Invictus
Out of the night that covers me
black as pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods there be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the full clutch of circumstance
I have neither winced or cried aloud
under the bludeonings of chance
my head is bloody but unbowed
And still there lies before me
the horror of the shade
but the council of the years
fines and shall find me unafraid.
It matter not how straight the gate
how scored with punishment the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am captin of my soul.

willian henley

How Do I love thee

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

elizabeth barrett browning

Not gold, but only man can make
a people great and strong;
men who for truth and honor's sake
stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
who dare while others fly-
The build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky

ralph waldo emerson

Reply to Shakespeare's Sonnet XVIII

Oh would that you were right, inspired bard
And I through words conferred eternity!
Were this plan not so in reason marred,
What joy could I create through poetry!
To her, I'd grant forever blooming youth,
To him, a sinew of unyielding strength.
Let fickle minds behold unflickering truth;
The feet that bear this torch will run time's length.
Yet Spring supplied is Spring's rebirth denied,
For seasoned beauty grows with fading years.
The boughs of Spring till Fall remain untried
And I would not deny our weathered tears.
Though time is only loaned in finite flow,
Until we die, our love is ours to grow.