RIP (13.12.05)

Invitus                                                          不敗的心   威廉亨利

by William Earnest Henley                               江紹倫譯
(1849-1903)                                                                                   

Out of the night that covers me,                    渡着覊困漫漫長夜
Black as the pit from pole to pole,                  那陰陽極間的漆黑深淵
I thank whatever gods may be                       我感謝上蒼神明
For my unconquerable soul.                            賜給我不可戰勝的靈魂

In the fell clutch of circumstance                   身陷生死關頭
I have not winced nor cried aloud.                 我從不畏縮或喊嚷
Under the bludgeonings of chance                   縱受困於無情控制
My head is bloody, but unbowed.                   我血破的頭不曾俯屈

Beyond this place of wrath and tears                 憤怒與哭泣以外
Looms but the Horror of the shade                    瀰漫着地獄般的恐怖
And yet the menace of the years                      不過面對無盡威迫
Finds and shall find me unafraid.                      我堅持無懼

It matters not how strait the gate,                   不管牢閘如何緊閉
How charged with punishments the scroll,       不管罪狀何其殘苛
I am the master of my fate:                              我是命運的主宰
I am the captain of my soul.                              我是靈魂的舵手

“This poem had accompanied Nelson Mandela in a tiny prison cell for 27 years. It helped him to endure all the hardship and fear to become a man without fear. He got elected the first president of free South Africa. He conquered a nation of hate and turned it to a nation of tolerance, hoping to achieve harmony one day. All these are seen in the movie Invictus.” __ 江紹倫

Poem read by Sir Alan Bates (1934-2003):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pJcwnS1c0I&feature=related