[A footnote explains, “These lines appearing on the Eve of the Coronation anticipate the special attention which Mr. Punch proposes to devote to that theme in his next issue.” I have based the following upon page images and a rough transcription in the Internet Archive’s online version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. — George P. Landow. Shirley Nicholson adds, "Owen Seaman (1861-1936) was editor of Punch from 1906 to 1932 but had been sending light verse to the magazine since 1894. He continued being a prolific rhymester during his tenure.]
OUT of the East, with lifted henrt,
England, Empress, isled in the West!
Far from our face, unseen of our eyes,
But ever in dreams made near and dear,
But ours, by knowledge of faith, confessed
Out of the East, with lifted heart,
From under the glare of brazen skies,
From trackless jungle and steaming mart,
From the palms that fringe our Southward seas
From upland valleys of green Kashmir,
Cool with the kiss of the mountain breeze,
Where the snows lie white on our Northern wall-
Out of the East we call, we call!
We bow to gods not thine;
Time-old our temples stand for sign
Of creeds we fostered ere thy Christ was lx.ni,
And yet, because thou gavest life
Loosed from the strain of inward strife,
Larger, more whole, more free;
Because thy lips were not forsworn,
But righteousness, with fearless face,
broke gently from thy judgment-place,;
Therefore to thee —
Yielding the rest for this one pride alone
Just for the right to have our part
that high splendour reared about thy throne--
Out of the East we call with lifted heart!
League-wide over the laughing plain
Where the tents are strewn and the pennons dance,
Delhi, washed of her ancient stain,
Gleams to the glint of sabre and lance
Proved in the heat of a hundred fight.-.
By the thunder of Kabul's ford in spate,
On Egypt's sand, in the havoc of Tirah's heights.
Voice of the East that names thy name:
England, to thee, to thee
Since thine in all that our hearts may spend,
Strength or beauty, thine we are to the end:
For peace, the Pearl of thine Orient sea;
For war, the leopard to guard thy landward gate;
Thine to share in thy fame or shame,
To stand with thee, with thee to fall
Out of the East, thy East, we call, we call. O. S.
Bibliography
S[eaman], O[wen]. “Delhi.” Punch. (31 December 1902): 452. Internet Archive’s online version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 5 June 2017.
Last modified 5 June 2017