Sunday, April 4, 2010

Unconquerable, undefeated.


Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever God's 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.

William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903)


***


The poem is called Invictus, a Latin word that means "unconquerable, undefeated". This is a poem where the President of South Africa, The Honorable Nelson "Madiba" Mandela held on to, for 27 years of imprisonment at Robben Island.

Actually I saw the film "Invictus" last night. It was directed by a man who needs no further introduction in the film industry, Clint Eastwood. The film is based by the book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation by John Carlin.

This film is as inspirational as any inspiration could ever be. Gosh I can still feel the goosebumps, even greater than Barack Obama's Presidential Victory Speech in November 2008.

Please spare some time to watch this short documentary of Nelson Mandela during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.



The documentary was narrated by Morgan Freeman, and he eventually landed the role of Madiba himself in the film. Matt Damon played the role of Francois Pienaar, the captain of South Africa 'Springboks' rugby team that won the historical 1995 Rugby World Cup.

This is a film where you see, and you start to think how patriotic you are for your country, for your people. We should take learn many lessons from this film, as this is a film we should all see, and let other people see too; our people, our country, our nation, our 1Malaysia.

I thank whatever God's may be
For my unconquerable soul
.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul...

I will definitely gonna watch this film over and over again.


Dem yuh!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wanted to ask you to translate to me "I am the master of my faith,I am the captain of my soul" into your language because i wnated to use that line for a tattoo.Please write to me - ana_dobrevska@abv.bg or on facebook - Ana Dobrevska.I'm from Bulgaria.

Budak Nakal said...

Anonymous a.k.a. Ana Dobrevska:
Since you want to use that line for a tattoo, and I understand that it is permanent and very hard to erase, allow me a couple of days to finalise the meaning in Malay. I will try to email you, as I have no Facebook account.

By the way, thanks for dropping by.

 
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