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 or cried aloud.

Under the blugeonings of change,

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.




Now retired from Rocky View County Fire Services, Fire Chief, Calgary, Alberta, Canada