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!
-Rudyard Kipling
Still one of my favorite poems. You can also check at youtube for some video of Dennis Hopper reading this poem. There is also another reading by Robert Morley that is good.
5 comments:
Oh I love it. I never thought of myself as a poetry lover. I was more into courtroom drama type reading.
Of course, I never thought I loved museum art either (Yes, I know -LAME- since I do graphic design "creative" type stuff for a living) but then I went to the Getty and I was so fascinated by the marble statues and intricate details of everything.
Very cool!
I like it because it's all about balance.(Which the world knows I struggle with too) And if you can just be a little bit reasonable and a LOT fearless the whole world is yours for the taking! :)
I thought you wrote that while you were in the slammer. Have you converted to islam yet?
If you like poetry like this....You are a fag,
I once knew this guy who was tough as nails. He was a former cage fighter, a bad-ass firefighter, understood Henry Rollins, and got all the hot babes. If you know what happened to him, let me know. Seriously, that was some cute poetry you posted. You should change your "Captain Chaos" moniker to something like "Sweet & Soft Shane."
There once was a sailor from Cali
Whose pecker smelled like a dirty galley
He never bathed
Rarely did shave
And got caught with a pocket of Maui Wowie
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