This is from a poem by Rupert Brooke called The Hill, which is about friendship (I think). It may of course be about something entirely different, it’s always so hard to tell. But for me it is about the friendship between two lovers, two friends. It is about keeping faith, keeping your promise to support, trust, believe in. It may of course be about keeping faith as a religious thing, but knowing Brooke’s poems I somehow don’t think so.

Keeping the faith is about sticking to your promises, going down into darkness rose-crowned, proud, unreluctant, knowing you’ve done the right thing, stuck by your friends in times of trouble. These are perhaps old-fashioned values – honour, loyalty, trust, pride, support, fidelity, reliability, dependability, strength, seeing things through, constancy – but no less worth having for all that. We live in a throw-away society and keeping your word, being there when you said you would, being dependable and reliable, makes you stand out as a person of some value, some worth. This is a good thing.

We fight shy of being ‘good’ these days in case people mistake us for ‘goody-goodies’. But that’s another thing entirely. Keeping the faith is something you do. Being a goody-goody is when you try to convert others. Having your own values and keeping them to yourself (sticking to Rule 1) is fine. Trying to make everyone else do the same as you is a bad thing. That makes you a goody-goody.

No, it doesn’t apply to me because I’m only giving out information, not trying to convert you. It is entirely up to you whether you pick up this information and run with it. But I can guarantee you I shall keep the faith and the information I give you today will be the same information I would give you in 20 years’ time. Old-fashioned values don’t ever go out of style (perhaps they’ve always been out) and I shan’t let you down.

Here’s another bit from the same poem: