Invictus by William Ernest Henley ✊#

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 1      
 2     
 3              INVICTUS
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 6    Out of the night that covers me,
 7          Black as the pit from pole to pole,
 8    I thank whatever gods may be
 9          For my unconquerable soul.
10    
11    In the fell clutch of circumstance
12          I have not winced nor cried aloud.
13    Under the bludgeonings of chance
14          My head is bloody, but unbowed.
15    
16    Beyond this place of wrath and tears
17          Looms but the Horror of the shade,
18    And yet the menace of the years
19          Finds and shall find me unafraid.
20    
21    It matters not how strait the gate,
22          How charged with punishments the scroll,
23    I am the master of my fate,
24          I am the captain of my soul. 
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28    — William Ernest Henley
29     1875 
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Footnotes#

ℹ️ The lines “I am the master of my fate […] I am the captain of my soul” are paraphrased in Lana Del Rey’s song “Lust for Life” featuring The Weeknd. The lyrics are changed from “I” to “we,” alluding to a relationship.

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