Invictus by William Ernest Henley

by | Apr 12, 2020 | Literary Echoes | 0 comments

Poetry | Invictus Audio

Poetry | Invictus Transcript

So heavy is your burden, but so is mine, and so is everyone’s. What you kept telling yourself over the years blaming others for your misfortunes and your so-called failures does not concern me or anyone. All those who love you are sick and tired of your whining as if you were the only one dining at that big table called life. We all want what’s best for you, but no one will ever know what that is for sure except for you, and no one will ever be able to take you there; we might be mere audiences in the middle of some long and lonely stretches standing just to cheer you on, but you are running your marathon alone. I took some time off of mine to come cheer you up. Soon I have to go back my way; excuse me if I value my life a little more than yours. I chose to be strong not only for you, but for as many as I can, and so should you. Go on and be a man. Each step will lead to another and before you know it, you will become Invictus.

Invictus
by William Ernest 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.

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