If

[Jeriatric]

I was in elementary school the first time I read this.....and got it.

And, I have never forgotten it.

Enjoy.

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

Rudyard Kipling's - If

 

[Ga Blue Knight]

Then

If I went to the same elementary school then I might understand the poem!

Enlighten me please?

 

[Jeriatric]

What was I thinking ?

If I went to the same elementary school then I might understand the poem!

Enlighten me please?

To me it represented the grit of America then and as I got older and understood the words and their intent better, it became somewhat of a yardstick of life for me.

The passing of Armstrong caused me to reflect.

That's all. :thumbup:

Thanks for asking.

 

[Ga Blue Knight]

Thanks for the explanation. Living here in the rural south things have not changed much since 1955, hense the question

 

[Jeriatric]

The South

Thanks for the explanation. Living here in the rural south things have not changed much since 1955, hense the question

I'm a Southern raised boy that still lives in the South.......just a different South. If ya know what I mean. :roflblack:

 

[boborgera]

My Grandfather would always say to me , In response to me using the word ''IF'',

''IF'' The dog didn't stop to take a pee he would have Caught the cat. hyea:

 

[Bob Denman]

That poem certainly gives one a reason to think a bit...

 

[Daisyjoe]

Thanks for the explanation. Living here in the rural south things have not changed much since 1955, hense the question

I WAS LUCKY. I HAD AN ENGLISH TEACHER THAT 'SPLAINED IT TO US.

 

[ARtraveler]

:2thumbs::2thumbs::2thumbs:

I wonder if they are still talking about people like Kipling and the other great lessons learned from the classics in our schools today. ??????

You see bits on TV and they can't even answer question like What color is a ruby laser? The person's answer: Blue?

What is the capital of ? Usually, not a clue.

Who is the vice president? Lincoln? etc., etc., etc.

As a college professor, I am amazed at the decline in how educated the students have become in the last 10 years. My last accounting class, I had to fail five of eighteen students. I have 48 students enrolled for the next semester, I am guessing ten or more. PS. based on student evaluations, they consider me a very good instructor.

 

[Jeriatric]

:2thumbs::2thumbs::2thumbs:

I wonder if they are still talking about people like Kipling and the other great lessons learned from the classics in our schools today. ??????

You see bits on TV and they can't even answer question like What color is a ruby laser? The person's answer: Blue?

What is the capital of ? Usually, not a clue.

Who is the vice president? Lincoln? etc., etc., etc.

As a college professor, I am amazed at the decline in how educated the students have become in the last 10 years. My last accounting class, I had to fail five of eighteen students. I have 48 students enrolled for the next semester, I am guessing ten or more. PS. based on student evaluations, they consider me a very good instructor.

Over a span of 3 years my department hired close to a hundred just out of high school and first year college students. To answer your question......they couldn't comprehend that being tardy had consequences. nuff said.

 

[spydaman60]

monday?

That poem certainly gives one a reason to think a bit...

ya, i'm gonna wait till monday to try and understand that poem----
that's just too deep s :cus: for me on a sunday!!!:roflblack::roflblack:

 

[boborgera]

Over a span of 3 years my department hired close to a hundred just out of high school and first year college students. To answer your question......they couldn't comprehend that being tardy had consequences. nuff said.

The reason most kids can't get to an appointment on time is because of ''Digital Watches''
If they have to be somewhere at 9 am, They look at their watch and when it shows 9:00 ''Then'' they leave for the appointment,
A digital watch just tells you ''NOW'', Not the past or future like an analog's face [dial] doe's.

 

[Jeriatric]

The reason most kids can't get to an appointment on time is because of ''Digital Watches''
If they have to be somewhere at 9 am, They look at their watch and when it shows 9:00 ''Then'' they leave for the appointment,
A digital watch just tells you ''NOW'', Not the past or future like an analog's face [dial] doe's.

That's laughable........and sad!

 

[Bob Denman]

ya, i'm gonna wait till monday to try and understand that poem----
that's just too deep s :cus: for me on a sunday!!!:roflblack::roflblack:

The worst problem of today... There ain't no NASCAR on; it happened last night! :yikes:

 

[bruiser]

Kipling is one of my favorite authors. I have read Gunga Din many times along with other poems of his. I have seen the original 1939 movie version with Sam Jaffee as Din probably mores times than I should. One of his more "conflicting" poems is "White Man's Burden". Quite a read. "If" is an emotional poem, it can mean many things to many people. I consider it quite a beautiful poem myself.