I am the captain of my soul.

By, the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)

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’s ... 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 ... of the scroll,

I am the master ... of my fate:

I am the captain ... of my soul.

…………………………………………………………………………

At the age of 12, Henley acquired tuberculosis of the bone. A few years later …

… Unto the foot … it had grown … to save his life … the foot they took …

….. Below the knee ….. Survived and lived ….. Until he was 53 …..

….... History: .......Written and Designed by ….... Don L. Johnson .…...