If
'If ' Summary
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.
Book Details
Author
Rudyard Kipling
Britain
Kipling's writing has strongly influenced that of others. His stories for adults remain in print and have garnered high praise from writers as different as Poul Anderson, Jorge Luis Borges, and Randal...
More on Rudyard KiplingDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The Secret Key, And Other Verses by George Essex Evans
Born in London of Welsh parents, George Essex Evans was raised and educated by his mother Mary Ann (née Owen) in Pembrokeshire after she was widowed w...
The Dreamers by Theodosia Garrison
Theodosia Garrison was a New Jersey poet and a friend of Ella Wheeler Wilcox, she attained a high level of popularity during her lifetime.
Old Man Rain by Madison Cawein
Through vivid imagery and evocative language, Cawein paints a poetic portrait of the Bluegrass State, capturing its natural beauty, rich history, and...
The White Sail by Louise Imogen Guiney
"The White Sail" is a luminous constellation of poems penned by the gifted wordsmith, Louise Imogen Guiney. Like stars in the night sky, each poem ill...
The Dream by John Donne
Would you wake up from a dream if it were the most beautiful dream you have ever had? In John Donne's poem The Dream, the speaker finds himself in su...
Welcome to Spring by Ring Lardner
Spring has sprung, but for these characters, it's anything but welcome. Welcome to Spring is a collection of poems by Ring Lardner that captures the...
Women I'm Not Married To by Franklin Pierce Adams
Imagine a world where all the women you're not married to are the ones you could have married... Women I'm Not Married To is a collection of poems by...
The Poet and The Baby by Paul Laurence Dunbar
What if a baby could inspire a poet to write the most beautiful poems of his life? The Poet and the Baby is a collection of poems by Paul Laurence Du...
The Cheery Way, a Bit of Verse for Every Day - January by John Kendrick Bangs
The new year is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. But how do you keep your spirits up when the winter blues start to set in? The Cheery Way...
Above Lavender Bay by Henry Lawson
Libby Stone has lived in Lavender Bay all her life. She loves the little seaside town and has big dreams to turn her father's greasy old chippy into a...
Reviews for If
No reviews posted or approved, yet...