Invictus

By William Earnest Henley

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

The moment that I read this poem in Ms Lafortune's class a few weeks ago, I fell in love with it immediately. It moved me so deeply, and cut me to the very core of my being, that I was almost caught in shock. The moment that I arrived home, I immediately printed it up on a big white sheet of paper and framed it, placing it on my wall where everyone could see it. I now wake up each morning and read it, and each morning I find some new encouragement, courage, faith, strength, or whatever I need to feel that day, by reading just those four stanzas. I believe that Invictus is one of the few poems on this earth today that can reach the hearts of everyone, no matter who they are, and can convey a different message each time that it is read. It is one that I would share with the whole world if I could.

I cannot stress enough the importance of and the weight of the words that fill these 16 lines. This is why I decided to post this on our Honor's English blog, because even if it is just a post, it is a post that hopefully a lot will read and be moved by. We are all the masters of our fates. We are all the captains of our souls. If this realization was to be given to every single teenager of this day and age, a great change would be wrought. People would have faith in their capabilities, and many would strive to do their best and to not allow the pressures of peers or the media and world today, get the best of them. They would have the perseverance to conquer their trials, instead of merely succumbing to them. Think of what the world could be!

With that, I leave you for now, and hope that you too were able to be moved by this remarkable poem.

Sincerely,

Aurora [even though you all probably know my name by now :) ]