A Version of "If"

In a previous post I posted the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling. Since I like that poem a lot I decided to try my hand at it too. The following version is by no means as good as Kipling because to me his poem stands in a class of its own. Anyway, the poem below is a tribute to "If". 

A Version of "If"

If you can keep your chin held high

And not let things get you down

If you can hope with everything that’s in you

And never let that hope drown

If you can help people

And view doing so only as a labor of love

If you can “do without” so that others don’t have to

And yet not see your actions as “doing without”

If you can do all of these things

And take pride and pleasure in doing them all

The logical conclusion would be

That you’ll be happier than you were before

The truth though is that everyone has the capacity

To do so many great things

And to be happy

And help others to be happy in turn

Therein lies the real beauty in humanity

It’s a light in all of us A light that can grow

A fire that can burn within

To outshine the darkness when it threatens to win

If you can hold onto these things

And gain strength from them all

Then I hope you’ll let nothing stop you

From standing tall

And taking the awesome ideas and hopes

You have inside you

And realize them

For every dream is worth pursuing

No matter how small