Invictus is a poem by William Ernest Henley. The poet, whose life was plagued by illness, wrote this poem while in hospital awaiting an amputation of his leg. The poem is about courage in the face of adversity and holding on to ones dignity in the face of hardship. I parody this poem in honor of all Zimbabweans on the occasion of the country’s 34th independence. For being hardy people, who despite the cards they have been dealt, embody self-mastery and continue to lead as active and as productive a life as possible.
Out of the despair that hovers over me
Down in the dumps I am, I must confess
As I see the celebrations around me
For it marks yet another year in regress
In this sad state of circumstance
I neither laugh nor cry out loud
At sovereignty, the cruel & selfish mistress
My salary, for many months is unpaid
Beyond this place of no lights and water
Only the connected sit on the council
And leave me alone with no power
But hope is mighty & leaves me unafraid
It matters not how many diamonds are cut
Or how farms others own
You ain’t the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul