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Posted by: Pygmalion Oct 17 03, 18:31

                                     

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.

Posted by: Cleo_Serapis Oct 18 03, 09:00

WOW "P"!  

This is wonderful, and NOW I understand your signature!    

Cheers!
~Cleo  

Posted by: jgdittier Apr 1 08, 09:03

Dear Pygmalion,
I'm not an advocate of modern style poetry where the message is prime and its
presentation most terse matters most. I'll go for the simplistic beauty of Longfellow's "The Day Is Done".
However, I'd vote for "Invictus" as top notch where message reigns.
Cheers, Ron jgd

Posted by: Peggy Carpenter Harwood Aug 15 08, 19:14

Hi Pygmalion,

Isn't this an moving bit of poetry! I don't agree with it, but I do think it is beautifully and dramatically written.

Peggy

Posted by: Psyche Aug 20 08, 15:35

Hi there!
Just spotted Invictus! Great poem, altho', same as Peggy, I don't agree or empathize with the content, deftly summarized in the finale...

Lucky Henley, master of his fate & soul! Wow... Probably my head is still unbowed, but thru' pride (not wanting to admit that I don't know what the hell is happening to the world...LOL...)

Stehpen Hawkings, the Brit wheelchaired scientist, says in "A Brief History of Time": "We go about our daily lives understanding almost nothing of our lives"... That's pretty humble coming from this great researcher, altho' in his case, I would say that his head is indeed "unbowed", metaphorically speaking, since his neck is actually sustained by special mechanisms, as is his entire body, plus his use of synthetic speech...geez...

Ron, is William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) a modern poet?! Well, never mind...LOL...

Cheers to all,
Syl***

Posted by: jgdittier Dec 18 08, 16:08

Dear All,
Is Henley a modern poet?
My simplistic definition is that if you write or wrote R&M, you're not modern.
Cheers, ron jgdittier