"IF" (With apolog i es t o R. Kipling)
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I f you can swi ng an axe , or wi eld a brushhook, Or dri ve a stake , or d r ag a c ha i n all day , If you can sc r ibble " f iggers in a not ebook, " Or s hoot a range pole half a mile away, If you ca n s ight a trans it or a level , Or move a t arget up and down a r od, If you f ear ne ithe r man , no r g host , no r devil , And know yourself and t rus t t he l i v i ng God. If you can \'ffide a swamp, or swim a r i ver, or f ear the deeps , nor yet t he di zzy he ights , I f you can s t and t he cold without a shiver, And take the Riggi n's ink to bed of nights , If you can turn a t humbscrew with your fingers , \oJhen every d i g it ' s l ike a frozen t humb, I f you can work as long as dayl i ght l i ngers , And no t complai n , nor t hink you 're goi ng some. If you can sight t hrough t r opi c heat 's r ef ract i on, Or t o i l all day be neath a bl i stering sun , I f you can f i nd a sort of sat i sfact i on, In knowi ng that you 've got a job well done , I f you can t alk wi th deckha nd or wi t h rigge r, And t ry t o be a gentleman to boot , I f you can use a "guess in ' stick" to f igger, And. know a coeffic ient from a root . I f your calculus and de scri pt i ve are forgotten, And you r algebra just selves you fairly well, And your drafting and your lettering are rot ten , And your Trautwi ne 's always handy by to tell, I f you can close a t rave rs e wi t hout fudgin', Or c heck a l i ne of levels by a foot, I f you ca n set a slope st ake j ust by judg in ', And never ki ck a tri pod wi t h your foot . I f you can run a l i ne whe r e you are told to , And make it stay somewhere on t he map, If you can read your notes when t hey ge t cold, too , And know that contours mustn ' t overlap, If you ca n l ine a truss or t ap a r i vet , . Or make a s urly f oreman come across, I f you can take an order , well as give i t , And no t have s ec r e t p i ty for the h9ss . I f you can climb a s t ool, and not feel 1o"rly , Nor have your head turned by a swivel chai r, I f you can always reach your judgme nts slowly, And lnake your rulings always just and fair, I f you can g i ve yourself and all that ' s in you, And make the others give t he i r own b es t too, I f you can handle men of brawn and s inew, And like t he men and make t hem like yO\l too .
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I f you ca n ' t boast a college educat i on , Or, i f you've got a sheepskin , can forget, I f you get a l i vin' wage for compensation , And give a little more than what you get , I f you can meet wi t h t riumph and di sas te r, And t reat them ;.rithout favor, nor with fear, You 'll be a man a nd your own master, But ••• what i s mo re ••• you '11 be a n ENGINEER.
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R. I . Randolph
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