Poetry – IF by Rudyard Kipling

This is one of my favourite poems because it speaks to me of a parent’s love for their child and of a person wishing to impart wisdom in an affectionate manner.

It is a little dated, yet the words remain delicately selected and impressive. It was written in the 19th century as a tribute to Leander Starr Jameson, from whom Kipling hoped his son would draw inspiration. It is perhaps here that my discomfort stirs. The odour of colonialism and elitism is somewhat pungent.

In my spoken introduction I refer to ‘chivalry’ as a value I appreciate. I cannot separate the knightly virtue from my thought as being a value for good. I know that most knights who claimed to follow that path were only chivalrous to people of a ‘higher station,’ however, and that is where the dream fades. Chivalry for me, is a non-sexist, non-political, tolerant, respe ...