If

      This is one of my favorite poems.  It takes so much courage and strength to do the things it says.  As I relate to these things in my life, I realize that I have a long way to go.  I am good in some areas, but worse in others.  Consider comparing the poem to your life to see where you are on the long journey to becoming a man.
      Just the first two lines are a prevalent issue in my life right now.  It seems that everyone around me is losing their minds, and I am being blamed for it.  I also feel like I am losing my mind.  But I have a choice to trust myself and to keep my head about me. 
     I quote the end of the second stanza: "...or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, and stoop and build'em up with worn out tools."  I have had to do this a few times in my life, and it can be very painful.  The ability to do this shows your courage.  It would be so easy to just give up, but what would that make you? A coward.
   I hope that I can "own the earth and everything that's in it, ...and become a Man..."  The journey is steep and lengthy, and although it is tough, it is well worth it in the end.