#invictus
Lawrence Hall
[email protected]
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
William Ernest Henley Never Owned a Snapper Lawnmower
Unsparkus
Out of the oil that covers me
Black as the pit of a president’s soul
I resent whatever flawed designs may be
With my unmechanical soul
In the fell clutch of a slippery clutch
I have often winced and cried aloud
Under the bludgeonings of that son-of-a-Dutch
“I’ll junk this [mess]!” I have avowed
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of engine-part prices
And yet the promise of a case of cold beers
Finds me hammering again at these devices
It matters not how high the grass
How charged with prices the hardware store bill
I am going to whip this foul machine’s [self]
Or bury the [buzzard] in the nearest landfill!
Legal stuff:
William Ernest Henley, "Invictus," from Poems (London: Macmillan and Co., 1920): 83-84. Public domain.
Mar 4, 2025
Mar 4, 2025 at 8:32 AM UTC
Alpas sa gabing lumukob
Dulo’t dulo’y itim pulos
Salamat anuman yung d’yos
Kalul’wa kong di pasakop
Sa pagkakataong malma
Di sumuko ni lumuha
Binugbog man ng tadhana
Ulong dug’ua’y tunghay-laya
Lampas ditong hagpis-luha
Tanging lilim lang ang banta
Datnan man dantaong sumpa
N’ia ‘nong takot, ako’y wala
Makipot man ang lagusan
Bale-wala’ng parusahan
Ang palad ko’y aking tangan
Ako’y ako ang Kapitan.
Mar 17, 2021
Mar 17, 2021 at 2:38 AM UTC
I am sorry for not keeping in touch
I get lost in the moment
I am barely there for all of you
But I truly care for you
Remember when you texted me
And I couldn't text you back
It's not your fault
We all flawed
Incomplete
Like a zygote
Stop trying to be perfect
Only God is
Try not to finish you self
Can you regenerate?
Dec 9, 2020
Dec 9, 2020 at 4:56 AM UTC
She drains my energy and enthrones my hurt...
When it rains I feel pains inside my frame.
She craves love but knows not
how to preserve it
She weaves wants and calls them lovers
When she is
Heart broke
She only needs
A rebound
That only deepens the wound
Of the heart
Bleeds as it hurts
It pleads afraid to love again.
But foolishly
She gives in to lies
Wide open thighs & wide shut eyes
She tries to moan
But he groans as she mourns
In the morning
He takes off like a raven
For true love only lasts one night if not an hour
Now she shudders recalling when he shuddered
Oh God she is shuttered and severed the slipknot...
Nov 28, 2020
Nov 28, 2020 at 6:50 AM UTC
Man from a worm
And the egg without a shell
Weak and feeble at the start
Yet mighty and smart at heart
He subdues all he sees
And sadly succumbs to all he can't see
Man mighty and glorious
But still plagued by the invisible
Who created life,
And filled it with strife?
Eat today to be eaten tomorrow
Lose today only to win tomorrow
Who thought of an eye
And all the things that surprise?
Or the tongue and the good food?
And the skin, which feels good?
I stand in awe
Because life is full
All the creatures
Are unique
And posses a great technique
Who thought of a man
And gave him this form?
Two firm legs
And two strong arms
Eyes above all
A mouth that speaks
And a mind that imagines
Imagine how easy it is to breath
Think, or to make a conversation
Who gave us words
Numbers, colors and what we own?
Who gave him this mind
One of a kind
He settles not
And searches everything
He finds meaning in the stars
And his mind runs wild
He finds meaning in the sounds
And makes decisions
Man from a worm
And the egg without a shell
Weak and feeble at the start
Yet mighty and smart at heart
Man from a worm
Made by the unseen
From the seen
A biological machine
And a house for ghosts
Aug 2, 2020
Aug 2, 2020 at 4:10 PM UTC
Unscathed I stand
Against the impetus
Of life with strife
Is rife but understand
That by every stride
You leave behind
The man you used to be...
To be ripe
Is to be ready
Like a serpent
Shed your skin
Aug 1, 2020
Aug 1, 2020 at 10:05 AM UTC
Let me chelate your doubts
Maybe you might make it out
I diagnosed your problems
I suggest you fix them
You follow no rhythm
No Wonder why you boring
Like waves in the ocean
Clearly you're flawless
No wonder I am careless
When minds I carass
With subtle gentleness
Aug 1, 2020
Aug 1, 2020 at 10:00 AM UTC
What a pleasure to watch this revolution televesied,
To watch discomfort result in uproar infront of our eyes,
Hidden efforts over generations now at the forefront,
The underground railroad and bush militia are in the streets demanding you to see them for what they are,
Exhaustion of oppression systematically,
Screams of disputing my comfort because I am not at ease until my brothers and sisters are free,
And what a beautiful thing it is to know this dynasty of capitalism we have built is destorying itself,
The same malicious intent that left the lid off the borehole has fallen in the well,
Change is being demanded,
Policy and legal process have tired them,
There is noise that the dam walls could no longer hold back,
An army of pain that has decided to attack,
What a pleasure to be part of the change in the ground beneath us,
They may have locked the body but the soul remains invictus.
Jul 23, 2020
Jul 23, 2020 at 11:52 PM UTC
So be Invictus, unconquerable, Invictus, unconquerable, Invictus, unconquerable, so must the human light spirit be in the universe,
Be you blind, but Invictus you shall be?
Be you weak, but Invictus you shall be?
Be you in darkness, but Invictus you shall be?
Be you facing death for the light's true way, but Invictus you shall be?
Be you standing alone against a mighty foe, but Invictus you shall be?
So be Invictus, unconquerable, Invictus, unconquerable, Invictus, unconquerable, so must the human light spirit be in the universe!
Jul 14, 2020
Jul 14, 2020 at 9:59 AM UTC
Out of the day that smothers me,
Thick as a wall from brick to brick,
I curse whatever person may be
For creating a math textbook this thick.
In the fell clutch of math circumstance
I have both winced and cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My brain has gone ****** and has bowed.
Beyond this place of pain and tears
Looms but the freedom of the shade,
And yet the menace of the math entering my ears
Finds and shall find me afraid.
It matters not the angle of the gate,
How charged with questions the scroll,
I am not the master of my fate,
Math is the captain of my soul.
May 15, 2020
May 15, 2020 at 9:00 PM UTC
Still i TREND, NONE I dread.
Fiend or friend, None I trust.
Still I stand, blooded yet undead
Mar 19, 2020
Mar 19, 2020 at 12:24 PM UTC
Alright lads here it comes full truth unvarnished
lately I feel life is tarnished,
with this Patina upon my soul,
I tell you all I won't grow old.
We won't be sharing drinks and dandling grandkids boys,
this world is grey, I'm null and void,
underappreciated hated unemployed,
a jaded unappreciative oul ****
yeah I deserve that-I can't front
no more lies but bitter truths,
lets rip these forgeries out by roots,
lets force this Gall and Hemlock down,
a deadly cocktail but I've found,
once choked down I'm Numb...comfort cold,
to you I'll leave behind I know,
believe me please...just let me go
Chorus/Sample 2
"So if you love me let me go
And run away before I know
My heart is just too dark to care
I can't destroy what isn't there
I only wish you weren't my friends
Then I could hurt you in the end
my own was banished long ago
It took the death of hope to let you go"
all right lads "order! down in front"!
a lot to take in all at once?
I know I know my lying smile
has fooled you all but it's been awhile
I'm sorry Bro I really am,
I tried my best to face the flames
but now I'm falling, no more games
no more lies Procrastination,
no more ******** obfuscation,
took the Beck Depression inventory...scored 100%!
been through a few too many ****** up life events,
more just round the corner-the Reaper awaits,
but 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.
"So if you love me let me go
And run away before I know
My heart is just too dark to care
I can't destroy what isn't there
I only wish you weren't my friends
Then I could hurt you in the end
my own was banished long ago
It took the death of hope to let you go"
The End?
May 17, 2019
May 17, 2019 at 7:05 AM UTC
How lost was I
till you came and found me
And how lone was I
till you came for me
I destroy everything I touch
And I ask for too much
I am afraid to admit what we are
For it might change who we are
Everything happened so fast
And I wish I could go back to the past
To that fest moment I laid my eyes on you
Then I would set you free
Because you deserve more than I can give
Mar 21, 2019
Mar 21, 2019 at 8:05 AM UTC
I was a wobbly little girl
Tortured by my devil
She chased and chased me
Hunting me down
Criticised my success
Laughed at my victory
Shortened my smiles
Prevented my laughs
My first tear
My only snap
My loudest sob
The whitest flag
I cried for help
there she was
I called emergency
there she was
I raced to school
there she was
I ran back home
there she was
Darkness flowed through her veins
Jealousy kept her running
Black magic empowered her
Sorcery concealed the naked
my head ******
my hands tied
my face torn
my vision blurred
Now she shoots and shoots
and shoots right through me
She strikes and strikes
and strikes up my smile
Protected by my love
I realised right then
I tried to die once
Never again.
Jan 26, 2019
Jan 26, 2019 at 4:03 PM UTC
Words are meaningless
and forgettable
Feelings are fleeting
and unreliable
Presents get old and worn out
People change
from friends to strangers
And change is inevitable
Nothing remains the same
Jan 16, 2019
Jan 16, 2019 at 8:19 AM UTC
As the bright dims I can see
the sun setting on horizons of gold
not all or yet, what might be
what happens when wrinkled, and old
Living for all that I'm worth
the game that all of us face
away from the day, of our birth
a modicum, or small piece, of grace
Past all the places I've been
memories of battles lost, won
loves and enemies seen
standing or ready, too run
Yes I'll arrive at the gates
burning, or bathed in the light
having my reasons and fate
doing what I thought
was right
Jun 20, 2018
Jun 20, 2018 at 7:00 PM UTC
My dreams are like the stars in the sky
Seeming too far for me to just take
But to watch opportunity walk idly by
Is to accept a future mistake
Challenges are constantly thrown at me
But I take them in my stride
I still may not know what I want to be
But I refuse to let life decide
I work for the things I want and need
And luck may not always be on my side
But looking at my efforts, I know I've achieved
Because I'm happy enough that I tried
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul
The reason to why my destiny's great
Is because it's under my control
Feb 21, 2018
Feb 21, 2018 at 5:11 PM UTC
In your voice, I speak
I'm unconquerable, I am unbeatable
And I cant be defeated by the weird silence nor
The eldritch darkness
Am not ashamed to speak for you
Am the light in you
You are made from me for me; you behold my face
But in your heart, a war rages
A war of self-condemnation, a life devoid of chastity
You stand alone
Broken, petrified, voiceless
But I speak for you
I speak to you, and I speak through you
Youre no longer a slave to fear
You have the light in you, dont hold it all in
Like dust trampled upon many feet
You shall rise and speak forth!
Up from the repeated trampling upon
Up from the pseudo self-preservation
Awake, thou slumberer
The world await earnestly for your rising
I in you, together hand in hand
We will conquer
We are invictus
Yes, you have a voice and you're no longer a slave
To fear
Sep 20, 2017
Sep 20, 2017 at 3:47 AM UTC
I'm only human
But I feel like the world expects me to be a God
Refusing to accept me because I'm not like them
A puppet with strings sticking out of his broken limbs
A pretender hiding his face behind the white mask of solitude
Walking the same beated path the rest of you slaves do
I'm sorry world but I rather not be a slave to society
Because I'm own being who travels the road less taken
A being who paves his own destiny with every step he takes
Because I'm the master of my fate and the captain of my soul
And I refuse to be a piece of lettuce in another's salad bowl
So instead selling myself out like a ****** on the side of the road
I'll be a king who sits on his own throne
Nov 5, 2016
Nov 5, 2016 at 6:08 AM UTC
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 ****** 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.
Jul 25, 2015
Jul 25, 2015 at 3:48 AM UTC