POETRY.
INDIA TO BRITAIN.
OUT of the East from the land of the sunrise Haste I where duty and homage belong.
Others may boast of their lands and their riches ; Little reek I or of war or of song.
Long have I suffered the yoke of the stranger, Bloody and fierce were the battles they fought. Brave they may be, yet I smile at their conquests— Mine is the infinite Kingdom of Thought.
Maya ! Illusion! The tramp of their armies, See how like phantoms they come and they go; Think they have won, and in grasping the shadow.
All that is Real for ever forego. Many have passed like the mists of the morning, Yet have I prayed that thy Rule may endure. Well.of the poor have I named thee protector, Firm is thy Faith and thy Justice is pure.
I dwell apart in the realm of the Spirit, Safely my people confide to thy hands.
Thou wilt preserve when the plague and the famine Smite in my cities and ravish my lands.
Kaisar-i-Hind ! all my races acclaim thee, Under thy law may my Spirit find rest.
Thou who bast learnt that to govern is service, I, too, will hail thee; 0 Star of the West.
H. M. A. S.
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