Thursday, December 10, 2009

Invictus

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

I find this poem moving in so many ways. It brings strength.


I am especially moved that Nelson Mandela had it displayed on his prison cell at Robben Island. It is now the title of the movie that shows Mandela's move toward reconciliation in the birth of the new "rainbow" South Africa.

2 comments:

  1. Jim -

    And I'm moved by your drawing strength from this and posting it here.

    I'm excited to see this movie sometime soon, so let me know if you'd like to go together.

    Know you and your family are in our prayers.

    -Chris Dwyer

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  2. Finally saw the movie. Outstanding! Ready (mentally, maybe not cash-wise) to make a trip to South Africa.

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