Invictus
 

I know that this is a movie coming out about Nelson Mandela's life but the actual poem by William Henley, written from his hospital bed after his leg was amputated below the knee has always been a favorite of mine. The minister read it at my dad's funeral because it personified the way he lived his life.

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.

:grouphug:

Alffe your dad sounded like a man of great strength, and stature...i know where your resilience is from now.


if i may can i share one of my favo......poems with you.

'if' by rudyard kipling


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)


David,,oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!true words......................

David... I love that Kipling poem...such a tall order..the rewards would be incredible....would that we all could be this "perfect"...but certainly, we can strive...it's that "trying thing" again...*grin.

So glad to see you back here....we always learn so much from you. :hug:

And thank you for the kind words...my Dad was a driving force in so many lives...a poor man, a principled man..much like you I suspect.

Alffe, I wanted to reply to you but don't want to take away from this powerful message that has been conveyed by what you wrote and by the reply from David, and the words of people who have suffered far worse than I can imagine. I'll talk to you on another thread, okay?

Thank you (Alffe) and (David) for taking the time to share these words here . . .

I think in light of how some of us are feeling today, this thread needs a bump. :grouphug:

Lonely1, I think it's Iris Bolton who said "the antidote to depression" is to surround yourself with people who care".....now I understand that your problem is finding those people and what ever it is you are doing, or not doing isn't working for you.

You need to try new ways...new things. As Addy said, you have a lot more to offer than you realize! :grouphug: