Rudyard Kipling
Fate’s Discourtesy
Be well assured that on our side
Our challenged oceans fight
Though headlong wind and leaping tide
Make us their sport to-night
Through force of weather, not of war
In jeopardy we steer
Then welcome Fate's discourtesy
Whereby it shall appear
How in all time of our distress
As in our triumph too
The game is more than the player of the game
And the ship is more than the crew!
Be well assured, though wave and wind
Have mightier blows in store
That we who keep the watch assigned
Must stand to it the more;
And as our streaming bows dismiss
Each billow's baulked career
Sing welcome Fate's discourtesy
Whereby it is made clear
How in all time of our distress
As in our triumph too
The game is more than the player of the game
And the ship is more than the crew!
Be well assured that on our side
Our challenged oceans fight
Though headlong wind and leaping tide
Make us their sport to-night
Through force of weather, not of war
In jeopardy we steer
Then welcome Fate's discourtesy
Whereby it shall appear
How in all time of our distress
As in our triumph too
The game is more than the player of the game
And the ship is more than the crew!