Invictus by William Ernest Henley

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.


According to the story, he wrote that poem following the amputation of his foot due to tubercular infection. I was hoping for different story... ....This poem  is all about resilience. As passionate and defiant he sounded, the acceptance of his fate must have freed his soul. I am  also the master of my fate and the captain of my soul. And I accept that only change is constant . However I still cannot believe that tuberculosis did initiate this powerful poem!