Monday, September 11, 2006

If ... (poem by rudyard kipling)

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 imposters 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

6 comments:

Estranged ! said...

WOW! That was just amazing one!

But its very hard to follow it till the end. You need really lots and lots of patience and maturity.

And then sometimes, you end up asking yourself: WHY??? Why always me??? But its important to carry on!

Really nice work by rudyard kipling! And thanks for posting.

arati kadav said...

hey i am glad ..yeha it is a tough poem to follow but one of the most beautful ones...

Interview Master said...

Thodi mushkil si lagi, to maine padi nahin :D
Kabhi aasaan karke samjhaa dena :P

arati kadav said...

alright requires 2 reads atl east for first timers :)

Anonymous said...

2 Reads chhodo maine to ek baar bhi nahin padi :)
Padne bhi nahin waala :D

-ankur

kakkajee said...

great poem .. and its actually interesting to see how different people convey almost the same thing in different words ..