Invictus

Dear Inmates,

I have nothing to offer this month other than this poem 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.

Nelson Mandela used it as a sort of prayer during his 27 years of incarceration in South Africa.

You are victims of the injustices of this world.  Injustices that are rooted in the woundedness and fear of humanity.  If we can heal that in ourselves, we are on the right track toward healing the world.

Keep telling the truth.  Keep believing in the inviolate goodness and purpose of your own soul.  Your lives are ordained.

[I like the word invictus so much that I am going to rename this blog to "Invictus". ]

love,
Outmate