One of my favorite poems of all time is Invictus by 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.

The poem takes on a wearied yet empowered tone as it utilizes a lot of strong imagery to describe a speaker who is struggling through life. All of the images have this brutal nature of someone who is being constantly bombarded and beaten down by life. The speaker talks about the "fell clutch of circumstance" and "bludgeoning's chance". The speaker has been in a place of "wrath and tears" and faces the “Horror of the shade".

Yet in the midst of all of this harsh reality, there is a sense of empowerment, an unwillingness to give in. Even though all of these negative things are happening, the speaker will not give up. He will continue forward one step at a time. He has an “unconquerable soul.” His head is “bloody, but unbowed.” Regardless of how bad things are, life will find him unafraid. Empowering.

I think this is something that most people can really connect to. Life is tough and it beats us down, but we are able to continue forward, sometimes struggling just to move an inch but nevertheless moving forward.

The word invictus is a Latin word that means "unconquerable," and that message is portrayed all throughout the poem. The last two lines of the poem really bring home this message:

I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.

I like to revisit this poem when I'm struggling. It’s a good reminder that even in my struggles, I'm not alone. And neither are you. The generalized nature of the speaker allows for me to become a part of the poem, and there is a shared experience that all of us can connect to.

It's comforting to realize that I'm not the only one that struggles in life. We all struggle. Everybody gets beaten and bruised and bloodied at one point or another. But at the same time, each one of us is able to work past our circumstances and overcome adversity.

This poem is a source of great encouragement and empowerment to me, and I wanted to share it. Hopefully it can be the same for you. What do you think about the poem? What lines jump out to you?