invictus

i found this poem ages ago, and it's a wonderfully inspiring poem

unfortunately it has far too many negative connotations, not least of which is that it was used as Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma Bomber)'s final statement just prior to his execution

Invictus by William Ernest Hemley

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.



i'm sure many people recognise those last two lines

and for those curious ones out there, invictus is latin for unconquered