Last night I dreamt of Invictus....
Running, at dusk, completely alone, barefoot on a soft, chocolate dirt levee amidst thousands of acres of rice paddies, sunset in the distance, the hum of mosquitoes buzzing in my ears, I find myself reciting Invictus spontaneously, verbatim. With each footfall, there is a piece of verse, running through my veins, entering my soul, empowering me, inviting me to accept myself, to release all dependency. The warmth that my soul so desires is at my own fingertips, all here inside of me, awaiting my acknowledgement. And so I run, padding along, alone, yet not lonely. Peace encompasses me, I fall into a comfortable steady pace, Invictus chiming through my brain......and then I awake.....whole and filled with warm tranquility. Finally, I AM THE CAPTAIN OF MY SOUL.
Invictus
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.