Rudyard Kipling’s “Recessional”, Commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, Signed by Him

"Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
   Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!   
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,   
Lest we forget—lest we forget!"

"Recessional" is one of the most famous poems in the English language. It was written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of her reign. Kipling originally composed "The White Man's Burden" for this event, a work with imperialist overtones. But he, somewhat surprisingly, came to feel that the Jubilee brought out a degree of optimism about Britain's global prospects "that scared me." So pondering deeply the event, the brewing troubles for Britain in South Africa, and the fate of other empires in history, he determined that a poem showing humility would be more fitting of the occasion. Kipling wrote and offered "Recessional" instead.

The poem is five stanzas of six lines each, composed of rhyming couplets. The last couplet – the biblical phrase "Lest we forget" (Deuteronomy 6:12) – repeats at the end of each stanza, reinforcing the message that Kipling intended to convey. The title suggests the departure of the clergy and the choir at the end of a service through the nave of a church. While scholars concur that Kipling was not a particularly religious man, he was very aware of the sacred nature of religious texts and processions in English history. The title and its allusion to an end rather than a beginning add solemnity and gravitas to Kipling's message: the English should be careful of imperialistic hubris, be wary of jingoism, and understand that their earthly conquests pale in comparison with the mighty works of God.

Kipling warns of a time when all of the "pomp of yesterday" fades away. The navies are gone, the "reeking tube and iron shard" have turned to "valiant dust that builds upon dust". These marvels and achievements are meaningless in the face of time. Men should be wary of their pride and their boasting, and should strive instead for a "humble and contrite heart". He cites fallen empires of Nineveh and Tyre as a warning that decline is inevitable.

The work caused a shock and a sensation. Instead of bragging or bombastic, it was humble, thoughtful and moving. The poem was a powerful and necessary countercurrent to the jingoism of the jubilee that had both attracted and troubled Kipling. The term "Lest we forget" became a watchword and thereafter appeared on gravestones all over the country.

Manuscript signed, being the entire poem "Recessional", Christmas 1898, signed by Kipling and inscribed to John Hays Hammond, an American mining engineer and consultant to British mineral interests. In all our years in this field, we can only recall seeing one other signed copy of this monumental poem. This is a true rarity.

God of our fathers, known of old—
Lord of our far-flung battle line—
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies—
The Captains and the Kings depart—
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called our navies melt away—
On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe—
Such boastings as the Gentiles use,
Or lesser breeds without the Law—
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard—
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding calls not Thee to guard.
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy Mercy on Thy People, Lord!
Amen.