Jack Barrett went to Quetta <br /> Because they told him to. <br />He left his wife at Simla <br /> On three-fourths his monthly screw. <br />Jack Barrett died at Quetta <br /> Ere the next month's pay he drew. <br /> <br />Jack Barrett went to Quetta. <br /> He didn't understand <br />The reason of his transfer <br /> From the pleasant mountain-land. <br />The season was September, <br /> And it killed him out of hand. <br /> <br />Jack Barrett went to Quetta <br /> And there gave up the ghost, <br />Attempting two men's duty <br /> In that very healthy post; <br />And Mrs. Barrett mourned for him <br /> Five lively months at most. <br /> <br />Jack Barrett's bones at Quetta <br /> Enjoy profound repose; <br />But I shouldn't be astonished <br /> If now his spirit knows <br />The reason of his transfer <br /> From the Himalayan snows. <br /> <br />And, when the Last Great Bugle Call <br /> Adown the Hurnai throbs, <br />And the last grim joke is entered <br /> In the big black Book of Jobs. <br />And Quetta graveyards give again <br /> Their victims to the air, <br />I shouldn't like to be the man <br /> Who sent Jack Barrett there.<br /><br />Rudyard Kipling<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-story-of-uriah/
