Transcript for accessibility purposes:
“I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”
William Ernest Henley
This quote is an excerpt from my favourite poem, Invictus, by William Ernest Henley, and now that I think about it, I have no idea why it took me so long to feature it in this series of posts.
I'm not a religious person, so I don't really pray but when I find myself lost or need some encouragement to deal with life, I often read this poem to myself so I guess it is the closest thing I have to a prayer.
Invictus means unconquerable and the poem is all about not letting yourself be conquered even when facing the biggest of adversities.
Henley wrote this poem while he was recovering from the amputation of his left leg. Mind you that this was in the 1800s, a time when hospitalization often meant death, especially in a severe case such as an amputation.
Even in the face of death, Henley did not give up, he never bowed his head, as he says in the poem, and he remained until his very end, the master of his fate and the captain of his soul.