If 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 '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! “If” by Rudard Kipling is a poem that mainly lists advice passed down from a father to his son in order to teach the child how to face life which is full of challenges, fortune, but also horrors. This can be modeled by the first stanza in which the speaker advises his son to be brave enough and have confidence in himself and listen to others' criticism even if it is untrue. He advises him to follow a loving, moderate way of life. During the second stanza, the speaker goes onwards in saying that life imposes different circumstances of success and failure which contradicts one's demands and hopes. His advice is always to try again. By the third stanza, the poet tells his son that if he fails to reach his goal and loses everything he has given his life to, to start over and be brave enough and summon up courage by his strong will and determination. Then during the fourth stanza, the speaker advises his son to be equally modest with common people as well as with people of rank. He also tells him to forgive his enemies before his friends and yet not to get too involved with them. He tells him to compensate every minute of hard feelings towards his enemies. He tells him that if he follows his advice, he will be a man of good morals and qualities and strength of character he will also own the whole Earth. I personally felt that this poem had a tone of impaction and was extremely relevant as a high school senior who now spends a lot more time with her family, knowing that it is the last year she’ll be living at home with her parents and seeing her friends in Georgia. This poem really got me to reflect on my mom’s advice and where I would be without her. Moreover, this poem also reminded me of all the times that my mom and I stroll on the Green Way together, a long walking trail that is surrounded by trees and small creeks. We walk there often, usually a couple weekends over the year, but it’s funny how although every time we continuously use the same path our conversations always shift, so many times when we walk my mom gives me advice, and there’s just the perfect touch of calmness and serenity that surrounds you. This poem therefore caused me to weigh the value of my parent’s words more and to be more sensitive to their teachings.