Invictus

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me

Black as the Pit from pole to pole, 

I thank whatever gods maybe 

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,

Any yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishment the scroll,

I am the master of my fate

I am the captain of my soul.

                                                                               -Henley

During my school  years at Booker T. Washington, in Wichita Falls, TX we were charged with learning this poem and through the years I've recited it many times and will probably continue. The author Henley was in prison when he wrote it and Nelson Mandela used this same poem to inspire himself while he was in prison for 20 plus years.   The movie industry created a movie bearing the same name regarding the life of Nelson Mandela.  The essence of the poem is regardless of what your situation, regardless of your conditions, you can always rise above.   

In reality... IAM the MASTER OF MY FATE... IAM THE CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL!!