394. Invictus by William Ernest Henley
b'WE Henley read by Classic Poetry Aloud: Giving voice to the poetry of the past.\\nwww.classicpoetryaloud.com\\n\\n--------------------------------------------\\n\\nInvictus\\nby William Ernest Henley (1849 \\u2013 1903)\\n \\nOut of the night that covers me,\\n Black as the Pit from pole to pole,\\nI thank whatever gods may be\\n For my unconquerable soul. \\n\\nIn the fell clutch of circumstance\\n I have not winced nor cried aloud.\\nUnder the bludgeonings of chance\\n My head is bloody, but unbowed.\\n\\nBeyond this place of wrath and tears\\n Looms but the Horror of the shade,\\nAnd yet the menace of the years\\n Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.\\n\\nIt matters not how strait the gate,\\n How charged with punishments the scroll,\\nI am the master of my fate:\\n I am the captain of my soul.\\n\\n\\nFirst aired: 14 January 2008\\n\\nFor hundreds more poetry readings, visit the Classic Poetry Aloud index.\\n\\nReading \\xa9 Classic Poetry Aloud 2009'