The poems are listed in order of publication.
| itle | Year | Theme |
| Ave Imperatrix | 1882 | The teenage Kipling’s tribute to Queen Victoria, after she escaped an assassination attempt. |
| The Battle of Assaye | 1882 | A rousing account, written when Kipling was sixteen, of Assaye in 1803, one of the battles which extended British power across the sub-continent |
| A Vision of India | 1884 | A grim account of life as one of the ICS officers who governed British India, overshadowed by the ever present danger of death from disease or drink or overwork |
| Arithmetic on the Frontier | 1886 | Frontier perils for a young officer, “Two thousand pounds of education Drops to a ten-rupee jezail“ |
| The Masque of Plenty | 1888 | An attack on a Government Commission on the conditions of the Indian peasantry, which found no cause for concern, despite drought and famine. The Pax Britannica had done nothing for the ordinary Indian. |
| One Viceroy resigns | 1888 | The sombre thoughts of a disillusioned Viceroy of India, handing over to his successor. |
| The Ballad of East and West | 1889 | there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth |
| Gunga Din | 1890 | ‘You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din’ |
| Pagett, M.P. | 1890 | An opinionated and ignorant visiting Liberal MP finds conditions in India punishing. Representative democracy is unlikely to benefit the Indian people. |
| The English Flag | 1891 | The street-bred people of England must remember that the empire had been won at a price. The overseas peoples are calling for the English to go forth and do their bit. |
| The Long Trail | 1891 | The joy of travel with a devoted companion |
| “Now it is not good…” | 1892 | There is a deep clash of cultures between white Christian Europeans and native brown-skinned peoples |
| The Voortrekker | 1892 | A celebration of the pioneer explorer, adventuring out into new lands, blazing his trail, while behind him new towns are a-building, and new industries springing up within the Empire. |
| The Song of the Cities | 1893 | A celebration of the great cities of the Empire, the language and trade links between Britain and its overseas territories dependent upon historic control of the oceans. |
| A Song of the English | 1893 | The English are the Chosen People under the Lord, so long as they obey the Law |
| The Mother Lodge | 1894 | A spirit of universal brotherhood in a country riven by caste and race. The Masonic Lodge was neutral territory, where Indians and English met as equals |
| The Native-Born | 1895 | Rousing verses which hail the common heritage and purpose of the English-speaking peoples |
| Hymn before Action | 1896 | Trouble with the Boers and the Kaiser takes their side. A call to action |
| Recessional | 1897 | If Britain, with her world wide dominance of the seas, becomes drunk with power, and forgets the Law, she will fall |
| Our Lady of the Snows | 1897 | A celebration of Canada as a close member of the Imperial family. |
| Pharaoh and the Sergeant | 1897 | A British Sergeant trains Egyptians, and turns them into soldiers by old-fashioned methods |
| The Explorer | 1898 | The pioneer presses on into unknown territory, driven by an unearthly power |
| The Houses | 1898 | An assertion of the value of the mutual ties between the Dominions of the British Empire |
| Kitchener’s School | 1898 | After the war, Kitchener had established a school in Khartoum. It will be good for the Sudanese |
| A Song of the White Men | 1899 | The mission of the ‘White Men’ is to go forth and right wrongs and ensure freedom. An assertion of the civilising imperial role of the British, and the other peoples of British stock, and its benefits to the world. |
| The White Man’s Burden | 1899 | An appeal to the United States to take up an imperial role in the Philippines. |
| The Lesson | 1901 | The British had been ill prepared for the South African War; their failures had taught them a necessary lesson |
| The Islanders | 1902 | A furious attack on the wealthy land-owning classes who ignore the need to protect their country from attack. Flanneled fools and muddied oafs |
| Dedication (The Five Nations) | 1903 | The nations of the Empire must be ready to face the perils of the impending threat from Germany. It must not be ignored |
| Piet | 1903 | The courage and endurance of the Boers, their marksmanship and their scouting, had provoked wide admiration in their opponments |
| South Africa (1903) | 1903 | After the war, a possessive and affectionate account of South Africa, as a lovely faithless woman |
| The Pro-Consuls | 1905 | Kipling’s friend Alfred Milner had laboured to great purpose in the reconstruction of South Africa after the War |
| The Rhodes Memorial, Table Mountain | 1905 | A tribute to Rhodes, the great Empire builder, much admired by Kipling for his vision and determination |
| Cities and Thrones and Powers | 1906 | We like to believe that our civilisation will endure, but across the centuries, it is no more enduring than the daffodills |
| A Pict Song | 1906 | The Picts are a small subject people, who deeply resent the authority of their conquerors, and seek to harm them in small ways |
| Sir Richard’s Song | 1906 | A celebration of Englishness, which for Kipling was a fusion between Norman and Saxon traditions |
| South Africa (1906) | 1906 | The Liberal government in Britain in 1906 had given responsible government in South Africa to the Boer Republics, a decision deeply opposed by Kipling. |
| The American Rebellion | 1911 | Before the American War of Independence, anger with the rebels. After it, a tribute to the soldiers of both sides |
| Big Steamers | 1911 | Without command of the seas, which ensures safety for cargos from around the world, we would starve |
| Jobson’s Amen | 1914 | There is more to the world than England |
| We and They | 1926 | We should learn to respect foreigners, who may be just as doubtful of us as we are of them |