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son to safety and knocks the pistol out of his hand. When Kamal says that the
Colonel's son is only still alive because he has not gestured to his hidden men to kill the young man, the Colonel's son counters that the retribution for his death by the Raj would likely cost Kamal more than the act would be worth. He demands that Kamal return the mare and says he will fight his own way back to his territory.
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Through the chase and their posturing, the two men have developed respect for each other. Kamal helps the
Colonel's son to his feet, and the young man offers to give the mare to the chieftain as a gift from his father. However, the mare goes over to the Colonel's son and nuzzles him, so Kamal decides
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horse and sets off to retrieve the mare. He catches up with Kamal at the edge of the chieftain's territory and fires his pistol, but he misses. Kamal challenges the
Colonel's son to a riding contest, and the two men gallop until dawn. The dun falls when crossing a river, and Kamal pulls the Colonel's
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term for "stolen". The fourth line contains the word "calkin", a term for part of a horseshoe, which Kamal is said to have "turned", referring to a trick used by horse-mounted brigands of reversing horseshoes to leave misleading tracks. The second quatrain (line 9) has the stock phrase: "Then up and
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with which he has equipped her. The
Colonel's son offers another pistol to Kamal, saying the first was taken from a foe, but this one is offered by a friend. As a final gesture, Kamal commands his only son go with the Colonel's son to protect and serve him, even though that will mean fighting for
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This may be read as saying that it is indisputable that geographic points of the compass will never meet in this life, but that when two strong men meet, the accidents of birth, whether of nationality, race, or family, do not matter at all—the mutual respect such individuals have, each for the
362:. The first line of the actual story, for example, is: "Kamal is out with twenty men to raise the Border-side," meaning that a raid is in progress to cause trouble in the Border. In this poem, the border is the
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and ride back to the
British fort. Kamal's son is greeted with hostility by the guards, but the Colonel's son admonishes them, saying that his companion is now no longer a border thief, but a fellow soldier.
272:, asks if any of his men know where Kamal might be. One does, and tells him, but warns of the dangers of entering Kamal's territory, which is guarded by tribesmen concealed among the rocks and scrub.
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character, prowess, and integrity of the other, are their only criteria for judging and accepting one another. Any differences in ethnicity between such individuals are never even considered.
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The first line of the poem is often quoted, sometimes to ascribe racism to
Kipling in regard to his views on
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that states a
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to respects the animal's choice. He gives her back to the
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When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!
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But covered a man of my own men with his rifle cocked on his knee. (lines 43-44)
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And thrice he heard a breech-bolt snick tho' never a man was seen. (lines 35-36)
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There was rock to the left and rock to the right, and low lean thorn between,
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There is rock to the left, and rock to the right, and low lean thorn between,
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And ye may hear a breech-bolt snick where never a man is seen. (lines 19-20)
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There is a couplet that is repeated with slight variations several times:
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the opening line. The full refrain that opens and closes the poem reads:
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309:. Those who quote it thus often miss the third and fourth lines, which
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483:(Definitive ed.). Garden City, NY: Doubleday. pp. 233–236.
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There was not a rock for twenty mile, there was not a clump of tree,
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Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
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But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
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Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great
Judgment Seat;
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personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay
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England against her enemies, which include Kamal himself.
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The New
Readers' Guide to the Works of Rudyard Kipling
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From Sea to Sea and Other Sketches, Letters of Travel
150:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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383:spoke the Colonel's son that led a troop of the
378:. The second line contains the word "lifted", a
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387:", which is also found in the Scottish ballad
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393:. Such echoes are found throughout the poem.
846:Rudyard Kipling's Verse: Definitive Edition
55:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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657:Wee Willie Winkie and Other Child Stories
421:included the poem in his 1941 collection
228:Learn how and when to remove this message
210:Learn how and when to remove this message
108:Learn how and when to remove this message
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446:"Notes on "The Ballad of East and West""
292:The Colonel's son and Kamal's son swear
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570:The Naulahka: A Story of West and East
641:The Phantom 'Rickshaw and Other Tales
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1409:Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer
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148:adding citations to reliable sources
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1440:Rudyard Kipling: A Remembrance Tale
1181:The Conversion of Aurelian McGoggin
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343:, two of which are equivalent to a
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1139:The Arrest of Lieutenant Golightly
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1570:Rudyard Kipling poems about India
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978:The Gods of the Copybook Headings
339:The poem is written with rhyming
256:Kamal, a tribal chieftain in the
36:This article has multiple issues.
1466:Caroline Starr Balestier Kipling
880:The Ballad of the 'Clampherdown'
444:John McGivering (27 June 2010).
354:It is written in the style of a
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347:. Some texts print the poem in
135:needs additional citations for
44:or discuss these issues on the
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1202:The Drums of the Fore and Aft
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159:"The Ballad of East and West"
374:), but it harks back to the
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1314:The Ship that Found Herself
887:The Ballad of East and West
854:A Choice of Kipling's Verse
424:A Choice of Kipling's Verse
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242:The Ballad of East and West
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1195:The Devil and the Deep Sea
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609:Plain Tales from the Hills
275:The Colonel's son takes a
1575:Poetry by Rudyard Kipling
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1328:The Taking of Lungtungpen
1272:The Man Who Would Be King
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957:The Female of the Species
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509:, which fix the location.
1377:Yoked with an Unbeliever
1160:The Broken-Link Handicap
873:The Absent-Minded Beggar
822:The Fringes of the Fleet
625:The Story of the Gadsbys
1426:Aerial Board of Control
1356:Toomai of the Elephants
1244:In the House of Suddhoo
480:Rudyard Kipling's Verse
376:English/Scottish Border
16:Poem by Rudyard Kipling
1404:Indian Railway Library
1307:The Rescue of Pluffles
1114:The White Man's Burden
857:(by T. S. Eliot, 1941)
751:All the Mowgli Stories
727:The Second Jungle Book
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88:by rewriting it in an
1514:Georgiana Burne-Jones
1490:John Lockwood Kipling
1153:Bread upon the Waters
1013:The King's Pilgrimage
735:Letting in the Jungle
562:The Light That Failed
452:. The Kipling Society
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1363:Watches of the Night
1342:The Three Musketeers
1335:Three and – an Extra
1146:Baa Baa, Black Sheep
1006:In the Neolithic Age
673:Barrack-Room Ballads
349:groups of four lines
144:improve this article
1286:Miss Youghal's Sais
838:Limits and Renewals
825:(1915, non-fiction)
814:Rewards and Fairies
806:Puck of Pook's Hill
582:Captains Courageous
364:North West Frontier
258:North-West Frontier
1530:Philip Burne-Jones
1522:Edward Burne-Jones
1443:(2006 documentary)
1230:His Chance in Life
1079:The Sons of Martha
1027:The Lowestoft Boat
992:Hymn Before Action
830:Debits and Credits
633:In Black and White
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90:encyclopedic style
77:is written like a
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200:November 2009
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1482:John Kipling
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1394:Bibliography
1174:Consequences
1093:The Sweepers
1043:Mary Gloster
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943:Danny Deever
915:Big Steamers
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142:Please help
137:verification
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38:Please help
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1451:(2007 film)
1448:My Boy Jack
1435:(1997 play)
1432:My Boy Jack
1349:Thrown Away
1065:Recessional
1058:My Boy Jack
964:Fuzzy-Wuzzy
950:A Death-Bed
759: 1895
601:Collections
419:T. S. Eliot
368:British Raj
341:heptameters
262:British Raj
1580:1899 poems
1564:Categories
1477:(daughter)
1216:False Dawn
1209:Fairy-Kist
1086:Submarines
431:References
311:contradict
170:newspapers
41:improve it
1414:Iron Ring
1251:Kidnapped
985:Gunga Din
936:Dane-geld
929:Cold Iron
489:225762741
330:lines 1-4
98:June 2011
47:talk page
1533:(cousin)
1509:(cousin)
1493:(father)
1370:Wireless
1034:Mandalay
507:Peshawur
477:(1940).
372:Pakistan
328:—
252:The poem
1549:(uncle)
1541:(uncle)
1525:(uncle)
1387:Related
1265:Lispeth
742:Red Dog
730:(1895)
692:(1894)
577:, 1892)
456:24 June
366:of the
268:of the
260:of the
184:scholar
84:Please
1517:(aunt)
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1459:Family
1107:Ubique
849:(1940)
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1100:Tommy
922:Boots
865:Poems
380:Scots
266:troop
191:JSTOR
177:books
1132:.007
1041:The
505:and
485:OCLC
458:2016
286:tack
163:news
999:If—
590:Kim
277:dun
146:by
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756:c.
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