I basically have to put this poem in my own words. Some sentences I don't really understand, so it would be a great help to me if you could tell me what they mean. I have to rephrase each sentence. After the semicolon, a new sentence begins.
Here is the poem;
Success
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
Rephrasement;
To laugh often and much:
-Find humour in things and enjoy every bit
To win the respect of intelligent people:
-Behave nicely and well before elders and show compassion for children
To earn the appreciation of honest critics:
-???????????????????
To appreciate beauty:
-to love others for who they are?
To find the best in others:
-To find one's best qualities
To leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition:
-To clean after yourself; keep organized..... (what else?)
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived:
-?????????????????
The last line of the poem is "This is to have succeeded"- I don't think I have to rephrase that do I?
3 answers
To laugh often and much;
-Find humour in things and enjoy every bit.
To win the respect of intelligent people
-Behave nicely and well before elders
and the affection of children;
-show compassion for children, and make them realize that you are their friend.
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
-????????????????????????????
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
- From within recognize you are hurt, but do not show that on the outside. Hide the emotions and make it seem like everything is normal.
to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others;
- to love other's for who they are and get to know all the wonderful qualities they possess.
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
-To clean after yourself; keep organized..... (what else?)
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
-????????????????????
This is to have succeeded.
I put question marks under the sentences that confused me. It would be a great help to me, if you could add more to what I have, and that way I would also be able to understand and see the things I missed and not forget to include them the next time I do something similar to this.
But these sets of lines go together; don't try to separate them:
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
The words "honest critics" and "false friends" are used in lines next to each other in order to point out opposites. Can critics be honest with you? Can they help you?
Can friends be "false"? Can they harm you?
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
Consider these lines as an adult would -- an adult who is nearing the end of life, who has been married and raised healthy children, who has put in and taken care of gardens (flowers, vegetables, does it matter?), who has worked to make a bad social situation better, who knows he/she has helped at least one person lead a better life.
Re-think ... then re-post.
1 answer