Our Lord Who did the Ox command
To kneel to Judah's King,
He binds His frost upon the land
To ripen it for Spring —
To ripen it for Spring, good sirs,
According to His Word.
Which well must be as ye can see —
And who shall judge the Lord?
When we poor fenmen skate the ice
Or shiver on the wold,
We hear the cry of a single tree
That breaks her heart in the cold —
That breaks her heart in the cold, good sirs,
And rendeth by the board.
Which well must be as ye can see —
And who shall judge the Lord?
Her wood is crazed and little worth
Excepting as to burn,
That we may warm and make our mirth
Until the Spring return —
Until the Spring return, good sirs,
When Christians walk abroad;
When well must be as ye can see —
And who shall judge the Lord?
God bless the master of this house,
And all who sleep therein!
And guard the fens from pirate folk,
And keep us all from sin,
To walk in honesty, good sirs,
Of thought and deed ad word!
Which shall befriend our latter end….
And who shall judge the Lord?
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This sounds as though it written to the tune of the old Christmas carol 'The Seven Joys of Mary'. Here's the first verse:
The first good joy that Mary had
It was the joy of one
To see the blessed Jesus Christ
When he was first her son.
When he was first her son, good man,
And happy may we be
Both Father, Son and Holy Ghost
To all eternity.
The final verse suggests another Christmas carol, the Wassail Song:
God bless the master of this house
Likewise the mistress too
And all the little children
That round the table go....
However, the repeated last line of Kipling's poem suggests to me that his narrator is indeed judging the Lord, or at least criticising him for sending such cold winters.
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