Gethsemane

Gethsemane

Poem by Rudyard Kipling

The Garden called Gethsemane   
   In Picardy it was,   
And there the people came to see   
   The English soldiers pass.
We used to pass—we used to pass   
   Or halt, as it might be,
And ship our masks in case of gas   
   Beyond Gethsemane.

The Garden called Gethsemane,   
   It held a pretty lass,
But all the time she talked to me
   I prayed my cup might pass.   
The officer sat on the chair,
   The men lay on the grass,   
And all the time we halted there
   I prayed my cup might pass.

It didn’t pass—it didn’t pass-
   It didn’t pass from me.
I drank it when we met the gas   
   Beyond Gethsemane!