Invicticus

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

William Ernest Henely


Yesterday I found this poem in my drawer. This was the poem that Timothy McVeigh (An American, who bombed some place, and was executed) presented as his last statement.