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 imposters 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!