"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."
This poem was written by William Ernest Henley, (23 August 1849 – 11 July 1903) a British poet, and writer from late Victorian England. Henley wrote many works but none have captured the imagination or stirred the soul as much as this 1875 poem called "Invictus".
Nelson Mandela delivered this poem to his fellow prisoners while he was incarcerated on Robben Island.
The poems stirring main message, created by the poet Henley himself who suffered from a disability, is one you may have heard before thanks to Hollywood,
But for me the main point of this poem is...
No matter what fate before us,
No matter the hardships and toll,
If there be fire inside you
You have an awoken soul,
The age in your years matter less,
But today they matter more,
Because while some lights grow dimmer,
There are those who must still explore.
In knowing your path
And making way
Despite the obstacles yet to unfold
you have become the master of your fate
You become the captain of your soul.
-Goran Yerkovich
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