Author: Rudyard Kipling

---

Not in the thick of the fight,
Not in the press of the odds,
Do the heroes come to their height,
Or we know the demi-gods.

That stands over till peace.
We can only perceive
Men returned from the seas,
Very grateful for leave.

They grant us sudden days
Snatched from their business of war;
But we are too close to appraise
What manner of men they are.

And, whether their names go down
With age-kept victories,
Or whether they battle and drown
Unreckoned, is hid from our eyes.

They are too near to be great,
But our children shall understand
When and how our fate
Was changed, and by whose hand.

Our children shall measure their worth.
We are content to be blind...
But we know that we walk on a new-born earth
With the saviours of mankind.

---

Type of Poem: Meditative Poem

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: Rudyard Kipling’s "The Verdicts" is a Meditative Poem that carries elements of an Elegy and a Philosophical Reflection. It deals with the difficulty of recognizing greatness in the moment it occurs, particularly during times of war and upheaval. The central theme is the idea that true heroes are often invisible to their contemporaries; it is only later, when time has lent perspective, that future generations can properly judge and appreciate the magnitude of their sacrifices. Kipling portrays a world still too close to conflict, too dazed and overwhelmed to properly honor those who have saved it. Only their descendants, who live in the "new-born earth" forged by their struggles, will fully understand and measure their worth.

The tone of the poem is humble, reverent, and reflective, filled with quiet gratitude but also an acknowledgment of human blindness to living history. Through restrained, almost plainspoken language, Kipling avoids immediate glorification and instead points to the slow, eventual verdict of history. The imagery is subtle but potent: men “returned from the seas,” “grateful for leave,” are portrayed not as glittering heroes but as ordinary, tired men, whose greatness lies hidden beneath their weariness and survival. The repeated idea that the heroes are "too near to be great" captures the psychological reality that proximity often obscures true significance.

Kipling’s structure, with short, measured stanzas and careful pacing, mirrors the poem’s mood of sober contemplation. There are no sweeping battle scenes or grand declarations; instead, the focus is on quiet aftermath, on the survivors and their silent contribution to future peace. The poem’s closing note—that "we walk on a new-born earth with the saviours of mankind"—is both an expression of awe and a somber reminder that history’s true heroes often pass uncelebrated in their own time. In "The Verdicts," Kipling offers a meditation on memory, gratitude, and the slow unfolding of historical judgment, suggesting that patience, rather than immediate praise, is the truest form of honoring greatness.