Invictus

[Mini]

Invictus​

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.​

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.​

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.​

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.​

By William Ernest Henley. 1849-1903​

 

[Kate]

That's my favourite poem

 

[Mini]

That's my favourite poem

Really!

I have only come across this poem today and it choked me up:cry:

It is very powerful and challenging.


The last two line are a wonderful reminder...



"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul".

 

[Kate]

It's very personal to me. I do find it's not a poem that many people have heard of but it's so powerful.

It was also Timothy McVeigh's last words (he wrote it down and handed it to a prison guard rather than actually speak) and as such it has been removed from various school curricula! Crazy stuff.