Invictus

William Ernest Henley (23 August 1849 – 11 July 1903) was an English poet, critic and editor. His poem title "Invictus" was taken for the title of the 2009 film starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon based on South Africa's winning the 1995 rugby world cup. The poem "Invictus" is said to have given Nelson Mandela motivation while he was in prison.

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 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.

fotos de William Ernest Henley e Nelson Mandela

N. Mandela foundation