If (by Rudyard Kipling) - meaning and vocabulary
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
MEANING: be patient, and can tolerate lies being told about you (you don't lie) and being hated; not hate anybody yourself; not try to look or sound too good
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
MEANING: dream but not just dream; instead, be realistic and be goal-oriented; function in both good situations and bad and realize that you will have both throughout your life; Triumph and Disaster — victory, and an event that causes great damage
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!
MEANING: make the most of every minute of life; then you will be an honorable and trustworthy human being
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!"
MEANING: not give up when you feel weakened physically and mentally; hang in there; sinew — a part of your body that connects a muscle to a bone; in a literary meaning, something that gives strength or support
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,
MEANING: remain calm when everyone near you is not calm, and they are holding you responsible for the problem; have confidence that you are acting correctly when everyone thinks you are wrong, and at the same time, understand their doubts
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,
MEANING: resist being corrupted by ordinary people or by people in high positions; not be hurt by either enemies or friends, value everyone, but not any one person too much
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
MEANING: tolerate the fact that people have twisted your words or wrecked your projects; rebuild your projects and rebuild your life again when necessary; knaves — an old-fashioned word for dishonest men; build 'em up — build them up; rebuild the broken parts of your life.
If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss;
risk everything you have, lose it and then start all over again (without complaint)
