IF" poetry By Rudyard Kipling

IF 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 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 ’elm 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

• The poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling is a didactic and inspirational piece that offers a series of hypothetical situations and advises on how to navigate them with wisdom and moral character. The poem presents a set of qualities and virtues that the poet considers important for personal growth and success. The poem begins with the line, "If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you." It emphasizes the importance of maintaining composure and level-headedness during challenging times. Throughout the poem, Kipling explores various aspects of life, such as dealing with triumph and failure, trusting oneself in the face of doubt, accepting responsibility, and staying true to one's values. Highlighting the importance of perseverance, humility, self-belief, and integrity. Kipling advises the reader to maintain integrity and not let success or failure define one's character. He encourages the reader to trust oneself when others doubt them and to be able to handle both praise and criticism with equanimity.