The Verdicts

(Jutland)
1916

1 
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.  
2 
That stands over till peace. 
  We can only perceive 
Men returned from the seas, 
  Very grateful for leave.  
3 
They grant us sudden days 
  Snatched from their business of war; 
But we are too close to appraise 
  What manner of men they are.  
4 
And, whether their names go down 
  With age-kept victories, 
Or whether they battle and drown 
  Unreckoned, is hid from our eyes.  
5 
They are too near to be great, 
  But our children shall understand 
When and how our fate 
  Was changed, and by whose hand.  
6 
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.

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