A couple of days ago, I woke up with a jolt in the middle of the night. For some odd reason, a poem was running through my mind.
I’d memorized it in 8th grade when my English teacher assigned us to find a poem we liked, memorize it, and then deliver it to the class. Aargh!
But over the years, I’d forgotten some of the stanzas. So yesterday, I googled it. What I discovered surprised me.
Recently, I was in Cape Town, a vibrant city at the bottom of South Africa. It’s the country’s capital and cultural hub.
While there, I visited Robben Island, a short ferry ride away. It was once a leper colony, but during the apartheid era it became a prison for individuals who believed that blacks and whites should have equal rights.
Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader, was imprisoned there for 18 years in a teeny-tiny 8x7 foot cell. During the day, he did hard labor at the lime quarry on the island.
(Note: the photo above is his cell.)
But just yesterday, I learned that Mandela memorized my favorite poem while at Robben Island. I was amazed that it affected him as it had affected me years earlier.
Mandela also recited it regularly to fellow prisoners to help them maintain their willpower and strength in the face of adversity.
After his release, Mandela resumed working to ensure the rights of all South African people, regardless of heritage. In 1994, he became South Africa’s first democratically elected president.
For me, the last two lines of Invictus have buoyed me up during some tough times in my life. I’m glad I discovered it when I was just thirteen. I hope you enjoy this powerful poem too.
Invictus
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.
P.S. “Invictus” means unconquered.
P.P.S. My 8th-grade teacher was stunned that I chose this poem.
