Are you familiar with the poem "Invictus"?

byjtinaco

175 followers

6 years ago

Hi guys! Just wanted to share to you this poem that I really love. I learned this poem in my high school days some 20 years ago. I personally think this poem is very powerful.

For me it's about gratitude, determination and bravery; it's about being strong and in charge of oneself despite any hardships, hindarnces and negative circumstances.

No wonder it is also the title of the American-South African drama film in 2009 starring Morgan Freeman (as Nelson Mandela) and Matt Damon (as Francois Pienaar) and directed by Clint Eastwood.

Also, when Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years, the poem Invictus was one of his inspirations. That make sense.

I know this poem by heart and every time I recite this, I get teary-eyed. And I wonder if there is anyone in here who resonates the same.

I draw strength from this poem...that's it...that's the short phrase for it...

By the way Invictus is from a Latin word which means "undefeated" or "unconquered".

Invictus by William Ernest Henly

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.