The Hour of the Angel

A Departure written by Rudyard Kipling

First published in Land and Sea Tales for Scouts and Guides (1923), accompanying the story "Stalky".

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Sooner or late — in earnest or in jest —
     (But the stakes are no jest) Ithuriel's Hour
Will spring on us, for the first time, the test
     Of our sole unbacked competence and power
     Up to the limit of our years and dower
Of judgment — or beyond. But here we have
Prepared long since our garland or our grave.
     For, at that hour, the sum of all our past,
     Act, habit, thought, and passion, shall be cast
     In one addition, be it more or less,
     And as that reading runs so shall we do;
     Meeting, astounded, victory at the last,
     Or, first and last, our own unworthiness.
And none can change us though they die to save!

Works by this author are in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 89 years or less. cs | de | en | eo | es | fr | he | pl | ru | zh

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