INVICTUS
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.

__

 
 
henley.jpg
William Ernest Henley
1849-1903

Poet, critic and editor, best remembered for his 1875 poem Invictus, written as a demonstration of his resilience following the amputation of his foot.

••• BIOGRAPHY •••

~ Scored for Piano and Orchestra ~

Dent-de-Lion du Midi
Composer

Jeffri Lynn Carrington
Soprano
henley sig 01.jpg

BACK TO POETS

Previous
Previous

WALTER DE LA MARE