Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Invictus is a short poem by the British poet William Ernest Henley, which is the source of a number of familiar clichés and quotations. The title is Latin for "unconquered." It was first published in 1875. The poem goes: 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. In this poem, Henley gave the world the familiar lines my head is bloody, but unbowed and I am the master of my fate. . . These lines have been quoted many times by people who may not realize their source. They seem a hyperbolic epitome of the "stiff upper lip" that popular culture has made a traditional British virtue, and a handy image of stoicism in the face of disaster. The poem recently gained further notoriety by being quoted by the American domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh, who quoted it in a communiqué released shortly before his execution for murder committed in the Oklahoma City bombing. See also If - External link Image of Timothy McVeigh's final statement given the morning of his execution on June 11, 2001. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.