Quotations and Literature Forum

hey! who loves Kipling's poem "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 all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath 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

i would like to read your comments!

The last line, " And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son! "

As a woman I can say thank God for carrying me through all that, and so I guess i must be a m..

Amen

the word "man" actually symbolises every human...any adult who starts a new life and needs advice from his/her parents! anyway i think that the general message of the poem is very nice and can be applied on both men and women!

Effie, I think its a wonderful, inspiring poem and a great guide to try and live by - thank you for posting it out in full.

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The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
e e cummings (1894 - 1962)

Its a truly inspiring poem.I'm gona paste it in my classroom:)

it's my favourite poem, however the only thing i don't like about it is that i have to write an essay based on it for my final exams next week!!