I can remember walking into Cline Library at NAU (flannel pajama pants, hair in messy bun) and seeing nerdy Matty sitting there with his laptop and carmex. I walked over and during the course of our conversation his "inspiration" came up...Invictus. I, of course, was totally taken in by it and I remember calling my mom and asking her if she knew the poem...of course she did and she proceeded to recite it. This was Matt's only hope of making it in the family--that and the fact that he was an eagle scout ;)
I decided to use it for a YW lesson on opposition. I love it.
So print this boy out and stick it to your fridge or put it by your nightstand--read it whenever you're feeling overwhelmed or struggling. William Henly penned this from his hospital bed when he was still a young man sick with tuburculosis of the bone, and his "fighting spirit" is very inspirational.
Invictus
-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."
More eyes :)
This was absolutely hilarious! I was sitting inside and glanced out the window just as Mike, Granty and Matt pulled up...we saw Mike and Grant get out of the car...and then it dawned on my---it was a 2-seater!! I thought where on earth is Matt???? just as the realization dawned on me, I grabbed my camera and bolted out the door...only to have missed Matt exiting from the trunk. It was like a clown car where the people just kept exiting and exiting. He had to lay sideways and hug his knees for a 30 minute ride home from the theater.
