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To Thomas Atkins

by Rudyard Kipling, 1919

(Prelude to Barrack Room Ballads)

    I HAVE made for you a song,
    And it may be right or wrong,
But only you can tell me if it’s true;
    I have tried for to explain
    Both your pleasure and your pain,
And, Thomas, here’s my best respects to you!

    O there’ll surely come a day
    When they’ll give you all your pay,
And treat you as a Christian ought to do;
    So, until that day comes round,
    Heaven keep you safe and sound,
And, Thomas, here’s my best respects to you!

Published in Rudyard Kipling's Verse: Inclusive Edition, 1885-1918
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