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.
Nelsen Mandela‘s favorite poem by Scotsman William Ernest Henley
Music: Under African Skies, Paul Simon and Miriam Makeba, Graceland Concert South Africa–Bajo los cielos de Africa.
Joseph’s face was black as night
The pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
His path was marked
By the stars in the southern hemisphere
And he walked his days
Under african skies
This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein
After the dream of falling and calling your name out
These are the roots of rhythm
And the roots of rhythm remain
In early memory
Mission music
Was ringing ’round my nursery door
I said take this child, lord
From tucson arizona
Give her the wings to fly through harmony
And she won’t bother you no more
This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein
After the dream of falling and calling your name out
These are the roots of rhythm
And the roots of rhythm remain
Joseph’s face was black as night
And the pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
His path was marked
By the stars in the southern hemisphere
And he walked the length of his days
Under african skies
[Nelsen Mandela image and hand print courtesy of Bloomzer and BolderNet]
~Posted by Horiwood.Com, Hollywood California USA. 12.13.09~
3 Responses to POETRY for AFRICA: INVICTUS by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY