I am not particularly drawn to the so-called "dead white males" of poetry, you just need to browse through my previous selections to see where my tastes lie. However I don't deny these poets their rightful place in our literary history. This weeks poem continues my theme of "poems I discovered through unlikely channels" being sent to my by a work colleague in IT, yours truly being the exception rather than the rule in IT when it comes to an interest in poetry. Thank-you Vernon for Rudyard Kiplings "If..."
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!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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7 comments:
Very interesting poem and beautifully inspiring. :)
Makes being a man quite difficult and frightening in many circumstances though, wouldn't you say?
I don't know about "difficult and frightening", my reading of the poem is that those are virtues to live into thus "If you can...". And whilst Mr Kipling was specifically addressing his son I don't think what he has to say is any more or less applicable to men or women, if what he says calls you...
No, I agree Murray, I think it applies to all people. It does speak to me and is actually a favorite poem of a couple of people I know.
I read the poem from the perspective of a child. If I were hearing my father speak these words to me, the world would seem quite intimidating, though he speaks of virtues. I would recognize that but still might feel small and frightened of the life before me.
I read it as: Life is difficult sometimes; there is a lot to wade through and sometimes decisions will not be as clear cut as one would like. You will make mistakes, but people learn to get through the tough times. If you try your best to keep your integrity and love through it all, while treating others fairly, then kid, you've certainly grown up and come into your own.
We, the audience, then recognize at this point that a soul can never truly be broken, it cannot be taken away, it only gives.
"If you try your best to keep your integrity and love through it all, while treating others fairly"
Nice.
We seem to have similar tastes- is there any-one I should be reading?
Thank-you.
Thank you Murray, I will think about some good ones to share :)
This is a very insightful blog.
However, even as I read these words I wrote, and you quoted, I was struck by my use of the word "fairly," and suddenly had a shocking flash in my mind of the word "civil."
In horror, pretty much, I thought of that old tale about the King and the two women fighting over the baby. The King says he will cut the baby in half and give them each a piece, to be fair. Of course, the real mother then refuses the offer, so he then knows whose the child is...
I am then wondering if I meant to use the word "fairly," or if I instead meant some other word...hmmm...anyway, I'll be considering that one :)
Thank you! ;)
Well the King may have been treating the two women "fairly" but he certainly wasn't treating the baby fairly!
When you said "treat others fairly" did you mean all others or just some of them? :-) You can trust a poet to be always looking for the perfect word!
lol! You are correct, I did mean everyone. Good call!
I just realized I was unknowingly referencing Gandhi. I found this today, "Love never claims, it ever gives."- Mohandas Gandhi
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