Jubal and Tubal Cain
By Rudyard Kipling
Jubal sang of the wrath of God
And the curse of thistle and thorn,
But Tubal got him a pointed rod
And scrambled the earth for corn.
Old – old as that early mould,
Young as the sprouting grain–
Yearly green is the strife between
Jubal and Tubal Cain!
Jubal sang of the new found sea,
And the love that its waves divide:
But Tubal hollowed a fallen tree
And passed to the farther side.
Black – black as the hurricane wrack,
Salt as the under main
Bitter and cold is the hate they hold –
Jubal and Tubal Cain!
Jubal sang of the golden years,
When wars and wounds shall cease
But Tubal fashioned the hand–flung spears
And showed his neighbors peace.
New – new as the nine–point–two,
Older than Lamech′s slain
Roaring and loud is the feud avowed, ′twixt
Jubal and Tubal Cain!
Jubal sang of the cliffs that bar
And the peaks that none may crown
But Tubal clambered by jut and scar,
And there he builded a town.
High – high as the snowsheds lie,
Low as the culverts drain
Wherever they be, they can never agree–
Jubal and Tubal Cain!
And the curse of thistle and thorn,
But Tubal got him a pointed rod
And scrambled the earth for corn.
Old – old as that early mould,
Young as the sprouting grain–
Yearly green is the strife between
Jubal and Tubal Cain!
Jubal sang of the new found sea,
And the love that its waves divide:
But Tubal hollowed a fallen tree
And passed to the farther side.
Black – black as the hurricane wrack,
Salt as the under main
Bitter and cold is the hate they hold –
Jubal and Tubal Cain!
Jubal sang of the golden years,
When wars and wounds shall cease
But Tubal fashioned the hand–flung spears
And showed his neighbors peace.
New – new as the nine–point–two,
Older than Lamech′s slain
Roaring and loud is the feud avowed, ′twixt
Jubal and Tubal Cain!
Jubal sang of the cliffs that bar
And the peaks that none may crown
But Tubal clambered by jut and scar,
And there he builded a town.
High – high as the snowsheds lie,
Low as the culverts drain
Wherever they be, they can never agree–
Jubal and Tubal Cain!