.jpeg?picon=2982)
The words are golden and so right on.
If—
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
—Rudyard Kipling
6 Comments on Wise Words from Rudyard, last added: 10/11/2012
Display Comments
Add a Comment
I've never seen this poem before, so thank you for sharing it because guess what? I loved it! Especially: "If you can wait and not be tired of waiting" One problem though...even if I do all these wonderful things, I will never be a Man. Should I be upset about this? My gut's telling me no. :D
I'm sorry. That one is out of reach, my friend.
Also, goatheads. They're burrs that stick to everything around here. Yes, I'm continuing another conversation we had previously.
I memorized this poem in fourth grade for a poetry performance competition. Still love it! Thanks for sharing, Caroline!
P.S. I'll jump into your goathead conversation. We have them here, too. They've popped many a baby jogger tire!
What a great poem to memorize! Maybe I'll do the same.
Yesterday I pulled several goatheads from the dog's paws and scraped them off the bottoms of my shoes. They're especially fun entangled in soccer cleat shoelaces.
Such a gorgeous poem, so full of wisdom that I needed to hear today. Thanks for sharing this, Caroline.
P.S. I've never heard them called them goatheads, but from now on I will lavishly call them that.
Catherine Denton
This is adorable.