If— by Rudyard Kipling | Poetry Foundation Page 1 of 3

If—
BY RUDYARD KIPLING

(‘Brother Square-Toes’— Rewardsand Fairies)

Ifyou can keep yourhead when allaboutyou   

   Are losing theirsand blam ing iton you,   
Ifyou can trustyourselfwhen allm en doubtyou,
   Butm ake allowance fortheirdoubting too;   
Ifyou can waitand notbe tired by waiting,
   O rbeing lied about,don’tdealin lies,
O rbeing hated,don’tgive way to hating,
   And yetdon’tlook too good,nortalk too wise:

Ifyou can dream — and notm ake dream syourm aster;   

   Ifyou can think— and notm ake thoughtsyouraim ;   
Ifyou can m eetwith Trium ph and D isaster
   And treatthose two im postorsjustthe sam e;   
Ifyou can bearto hearthe truth you’ve spoken
   Twisted by knavesto m ake a trap forfools,
O rwatch the thingsyou gave yourlife to,broken,
   And stoop and build ’em up with worn-outtools:

Ifyou can m ake one heap ofallyourwinnings

   And risk iton one turn ofpitch-and-toss,
And lose,and startagain atyourbeginnings
   And neverbreathe a word aboutyourloss;
Ifyou can force yourheartand nerve and sinew
   To serve yourturn long afterthey are gone,   
And so hold on when there isnothing in you
   Exceptthe W illwhich saysto them :‘H old on!’

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if--- 9/6/2021
If— by Rudyard Kipling | Poetry Foundation Page 2 of 3

Ifyou can talk with crowdsand keep yourvirtue,   

   O rwalk with K ings— norlose the com m on touch,
Ifneitherfoesnorloving friendscan hurtyou,
   Ifallm en countwith you,butnone too m uch;
Ifyou can fillthe unforgiving m inute
   W ith sixty seconds’worth ofdistance run,   
Yoursisthe Earth and everything that’sin it,   
   And— which ism ore— you’llbe a M an,m y son!

n/a

Source: A Choice of Kipling's Verse (1943)

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https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if--- 9/6/2021
If— by Rudyard Kipling | Poetry Foundation Page 3 of 3

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if--- 9/6/2021