Invictus

By William Ernest Henley

1849-1903

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 unbow'd.

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.

DayPoems Poem No. 790
<a href="http://www.daypoems.net/poems/790.html">Invictus by William Ernest Henley</a>

The DayPoems Poetry Collection, www.daypoems.net
Timothy Bovee, editor

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