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“Invictus” by William Ernest Henley

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, 1849-1903

This poem is in the public domain.

Photo by Matt Hardy on Unsplash

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