Invictus
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 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
Henley
Confiteor
Out of the night that
covered me,
Black as the Pit from
pole to pole;
I thank the God who
rescued me,
For He restored my
shattered soul.
In the fell clutch of
sinful pride
Oh, I have winced and
cried aloud.
Crushed by these
blows I can’t survive;
My head is bloody;
and I bow.
Beyond this place of
wrath and tears
Breaks the dawn of
Glorious Day.
In promise of those
rolling years
I shall press on now, unafraid.
He leads me through
the Narrow Gate
And His righteousness
marks my scroll,
He is the Master of
my fate:
He is the Captain of
my soul.
-
Matthew Burden