I Am The Captain Of My Soul

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

“Invictus,”
by William Earnest Henley

This poem makes me think about choice. How much choice do we have? There strange stories about people trying to “break into” other people’s minds during unethical science experiments based on unsound reasoning. Chemicals are used to try and cause a person to give away secrets as a form of mind control. How would they determine how much of what that person said was gibberish and how much of it was true, if any of it at all? Besides, a person only has indirect control of their internal dialogue, which may be what they would be hearing if a person were drugged, only it would most likely be in a confused jumble.

There are many things about a person that is not directly under their control such as some aspects of internal dialogue and reactions. That is part of our nature. However, we are still the captain of our souls.