Out of 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 circumstances
I have not winced nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody but unbowed.
Beyond the place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of shade
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate
Charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.
William Ernest Henley
From the collection Life And Death
