Norman Rowland Gale (Норман Гейл)
Dark Blue
O Statesmen who devise and plot To keep the White above the Black, Who tremble when your bolt is shot Lest love and loyalty grow slack, There's not a deed of craftsmanship, There's not a thing Red Tape can do, Shall knit the Hindoo with the Celt As much as this--the Cambridge Blue! No million acres of Despatch, No tanks of governmental ink, Can force a native not to watch For days when England's star may sink. Build factories to weave the tape, Make tables for the rice and dew-- Do all your best, and you shall miss The binding force of Cambridge Blue! An Indian gentleman to-day Has staled your tortoise policy; And thousands cheer to see him play, A splendid batsman, quick and free. A game shall dwindle all your cares, A clever catch and runs a few! A Parliament may fail indeed, But not the band of Cambridge Blue!
Norman Rowland Gale’s other poems:
