Just a short poem by an amazing poet, William Ernest Henley, written in 1875. It is said that this poem was written as a demonstration of his resilience following the amputation of his foot due to tubercular infection. While incarcerated on Robben Island prison, Nelson Mandela recited the poem to fellow prisoners and was inspired by it's message.
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.
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