(Dedicated to Rudyard Kipling)
Oh Child, beware!
Lest you are moved by nothing
Crave money
But be master over it.
Be ambitious child,
If it will harden your green mind.
Let drinking be your consoler
If it truly consoles.
Dance where men dance
If dancing is not madness.
Let power be your mistress
And you its lord.
Just live and forget tomorrow
If tomorrow can take care of itself.
Find solace in friends
Yet be careful of which one steals your heart
Sleep when men sleep
And when death comes embrace it with love
If you understand my message
You are a servant in the house of wisdom
More so, you are not one of the losers.
