Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936 / Bombay)

One of the best poems I've ever read! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! JUST AMAZING! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Very strong poem that is still relevant today and it has been a determined cry against political corruption in our day, and it was used as a wake-up call at my country's People Power Revolution of 1986.

I really love this poem, down to earth and no cover up thanks

If......I have nothing more to add, its all said.

This poem is one of the best works of history, telling a person how to behave, act, and how to respect and conduct themself...

This poet was full of wisdom, just reading his work shows that he had an old soul and a good heart

Do you people practice morality because Kipling had preached to do so in the poem 'If' or because your inner feelings urged you to do so?

@ Srimayee Ganguly: art and literature are the forerunner of the human race, where our art goes our morals and ethics are sure to follow... Values come from within? ? ? .... scary thought

In reply to Jane Quinn,
Ethics is best practiced in life, good in moral science books, but if literature especially poetry has full of ethics in it, life would not be worth living. Values come from within; perhaps those who lack it in real life search it in book of poems.

In Literature class, each student had to choose a poet to give a report and memorize a poem by the poet we had chosen. There were many to choose from, as you all know, so, as you can imagine, it was very difficult. When I discussed this with my mother, she immediately said 'If' by Rudyard Kipling. For my grandfather, when he in eighth grade, as I am now, had to memorize the same poem at St. Michaels Elementary School in Providence, Rhode Island. After the presentation, my mom, my brother and I, drove to the cemetary and I read it to him. My mom said he would be proud.
(P.S. Srimayee Gaguly, ethics are a very important part of life, and if you deny them, then I daresay you have none yourself. And if you dislike the poem, all due respect, then I should think you the opposite of the great man Kipling describes in it. Thank you, sir.)