Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Invictus - A poem by William Ernest Henley (1849-1902)

Originally posted at: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/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.

William Ernest Henley

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting the entire poem.

Anonymous said...

"i am the captain of my soul" Henley (1849-1902). So tell me then skipper, why have you run a-ground and got your poetic self buried 6 feet under?