Invictus

From Carl..

Following poem composed by William Ernest Henley. It appeared first on the taut canvas of his anguished mind when he lay in hospital after having his leg amputated...at a time when anesthesia was not yet invented. Had many painful complications in the aftermath of that operation also. This historical background enhances the mood of the poem.

INVICTUS (Latin for "invincible")

"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 bludgeoning 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." [End]


antavanta imE deha
nityasyOktaH shareeriNaH
anashinO 'pramEyasya
tasmAd yudhyasva bhArata


"Only the material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is subject to destruction; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata. "


nainam chindanti shastrANi
nainam dahati pAvakah
na cainam kledayanty ApO
na shoshayati mArutaH

" The soul can never be cut into pieces by any weapon, nor can he be burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. "

-- Bhagavad Gita Ch 2, verses 18, 23.
http://www.asitis.com/2/18.html
http://www.asitis.com/2/23.html