Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

The Explorer -- Rudyard Kipling

       
(Poem #1586) The Explorer
 "There's no sense in going further -- it's the edge of cultivation,"
   So they said, and I believed it -- broke my land and sowed my crop --
 Built my barns and strung my fences in the little border station
   Tucked away below the foothills where the trails run out and stop:

 Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes
   On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated -- so:
 "Something hidden.  Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges --
   "Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and wating for you. Go!"

 So I went, worn out of patience; never told my nearest neighbours --
   Stole away with pack and ponies -- left 'em drinking in the town;
 And the faith that moveth mountains didn't seem to help my labours
   As I faced the sheer main-ranges, whipping up and leading down.

 March by march I puzzled through 'em, turning flanks and dodging shoulders,
   Hurried on in hope of water, headed back for lack of grass;
 Till I camped above the tree-line -- drifted snow and naked boulders --
   Felt free air astir to windward -- knew I'd stumbled on the Pass.

 'Thought to name it for the finder: but that night the Norther found me --
   Froze and killed the plains-bred ponies; so I called the camp Despair
 (It's the Railway Gap to-day, though). Then my Whisper waked to hound me: --
   "Something lost behind the Ranges.  Over yonder! Go you there!"

 Then I knew, the while I doubted -- knew His Hand was certain o'er me.
   Still -- it might be self-delusion -- scores of better men had died --
 I could reach the township living, but.... He knows what terror tore me...
   But I didn't... but I didn't. I went down the other side.

 Till the snow ran out in flowers, and the flowers turned to aloes,
   And the aloes sprung to thickets and a brimming stream ran by;
 But the thickets dwined to thorn-scrub, and the water drained to shallows,
   And I dropped again on desert -- blasted earth, and blasting sky....

 I remember lighting fires; I remember sitting by 'em;
   I remember seeing faces, hearing voices, through the smoke;
 I remember they were fancy -- for I threw a stone to try 'em.
   "Something lost behind the Ranges" was the only word they spoke.

 I remember going crazy. I remember that I knew it
 When I heard myself hallooing to the funny folk I saw.
 'Very full of dreams that desert, but my two legs took me through it...
 And I used to watch 'em moving with the toes all black and raw.

 But at last the country altered -- White Man's country past disputing --
   Rolling grass and open timber, with a hint of hills behind --
 There I found me food and water, and I lay a week recruiting.
   Got my strength and lost my nightmares.  Then I entered on my find.

 Thence I ran my first rough survey -- chose my trees and blazed and ringed 'em
--
   Week by week I pried and sampled -- week by week my findings grew.
 Saul he went to look for donkeys, and by God he found a kingdom!
   But by God, who sent His Whisper, I had struck the worth of two!

 Up along the hostile mountains, where the hair-poised snowslide shivers --
   Down and through the big fat marshes that the virgin ore-bed stains,
 Till I heard the mile-wide mutterings of unimagined rivers,
   And beyond the nameless timber saw illimitable plains!

 'Plotted sites of future cities, traced the easy grades between 'em;
   Watched unharnessed rapids wasting fifty thousand head an hour;
 Counted leagues of water-frontage through the axe-ripe woods that screen 'em
--
   Saw the plant to feed a people -- up and waiting for the power!

 Well, I know who'll take the credit -- all the clever chaps that followed --
   Came, a dozen men together -- never knew my desert-fears;
 Tracked me by the camps I'd quitted, used the water-holes I hollowed.
   They'll go back and do the talking. They'll be called the Pioneers!

 They will find my sites of townships -- not the cities that I set there.
   They will rediscover rivers -- not my rivers heard at night.
 By my own old marks and bearings they will show me how to get there,
   By the lonely cairns I builded they will guide my feet aright.

 Have I named one single river? Have I claimed one single acre?
   Have I kept one single nugget -- (barring samples)? No, not I!
 Because my price was paid me ten times over by my Maker.
   But you wouldn't understand it. You go up and occupy.

 Ores you'll find there; wood and cattle; water-transit sure and steady
   (That should keep the railway rates down), coal and iron at your doors.
 God took care to hide that country till He judged His people ready,
   Then He chose me for His Whisper, and I've found it, and it's yours!

 Yes, your "Never-never country" -- yes, your "edge of cultivation"
   And "no sense in going further" -- till I crossed the range to see.
 God forgive me! No, I didn't. It's God's present to our nation.
  Anybody might have found it, but -- His Whisper came to Me!
-- Rudyard Kipling
I can never read this poem without feeling an answering thrill in my heart,
without the hairs on my arms rising in response and a shiver running down my
spine. This is Kipling at his best, and his best - as I keep on
rediscovering - is very, very good indeed. And while today's poem is perhaps
not one of his "famous" ones, while it may never attain the prominence of
"Tommy" or "East and West", its subject is clearly one that was dear to
Kipling's heart, that he returned to again and again in poetry and prose.

And it is that passion that sparkles through the poem, that infuses it with
all the romance of exploration - "Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost
and wating for you. Go!" - and the relentless purity of the drive:

   Have I named one single river? Have I claimed one single acre?
     Have I kept one single nugget -- (barring samples)? No, not I!
   Because my price was paid me ten times over by my Maker.
     But you wouldn't understand it. You go up and occupy.

Most of Kipling's best work is set in the turbulent borderland between
civilisation and wilderness; today's poem definitely deserves a place in
that number.

martin

23 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Tom Swantner said...

In my more than fifty three years of preaching, "the Explorer" is the best background piece for shoring up a sermon dealing with that time in one's life when faith and reason do battle with the human soul,
Rev. M. thos. Swantner, UMC retired.

Ideas de negocios said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, but I am firmly convinced of this and love to learn more about the subject. If possible, acquire knowledge, would you update your blog with more information? It is very helpful to me

Anonymous said...

This poem is a great metaphor for the adventures that lie before each of us as we journey through life, exploring the landscapes that lie before us and the obstacles that we encounter as we seek our destiny.
----- Amado Narvaez

Unknown said...

Hеу there, Υоu've done a great job. I'll defіnitely digg it and ρersonally suggеst to my frіеnԁѕ.
I am confidеnt theу'll be benefited from this website.gatwick to w2|cab w2

Unknown said...

I will appreciate if you continue this in future. Numerous people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!taxis in w2 | stansted to w2 | w2 minicabs

Unknown said...

Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is truly informative. minicabs in w2 | cab w2 | mirza maqbool

alat perangsang said...

thanks for the info very interesting, hopefully the more successful his future with the best results. greetings by jual alat bantu sex, alat sex wanita dan alat bantu sex pria.

zarena cantik said...

perfect perfect fried rice, good post for the beginners as well..Super Prema, loved the presentation very much
Selaput Dara Buatan
Vimax asli Canada
Obat Perangsang
viagra usa
Bio Slim Herbal
Boneka Full Body
vimax canada

happy wheels said...

Very interesting blog. Alot of blogs I see these days don't really provide anything that I'm interested in, but I'm most definately interested in this one. Just thought that I would post and let you know.

Michael Jones said...

Java Assignment help
You should try to keep your article short. If you want to finish in lessen time. Make sure worlds limit should not exceed more than 500 words. Try to add only relevant data and information. If you feel that you are stuck, you can take assignment help online  to get a proper idea. There are several web services which can help you to find out a suitable solution to your problems.

Assignment help said...

GetAssignmenthelpOnline.com This Online platform has a really good team who all believe in giving their best to help you in completing your assignment. This online platform is 100% genuine and you can surely trust them for taking help regarding your assignment. Check them out and reach them to take help from their expert.

Post a Comment