Happy Dog wrote:
rote it.)

moo

How about this reply to "Invictus" by Orson F. Whitney?

The Soul's Captain

Art thou in truth? Then what of Him
Who bought thee with His blood?
Who plunged into devouring seas
And snatched thee from the flood,

Who bore for all our fallen race
What none but Him could bear--
That God who died that man might live
And endless glory share.

Of what avail thy vaunted strength
Apart from His vast might?
Pray that His light may pierce the gloom
That thou mayest see aright.

Men are as bubbles on the wave,
As leaves upon the tree.
Thou, captain of thy soul! Forsooth,
Who gave that place to thee?

Free will is thine -- free agency,
To wield for right or wrong:
But thou must answerunto Him
To whom all souls belong.

Bend to the dust that "head unbowed,"
Small part of life's great whole,
And see in Him and Him alone,
The captain of thy soul.

------

Now, perhaps you are irreligious, and do not believe in free will. I
would grant you the right to believe and do as you see best. The poem
still makes its point, even if speaking of God in a figurative sense.
By what right has anyone to claim that they are the captain of their
soul? Or perhaps you believe in no god, but believe in free will. On
what basis then do you believe in free will? If, in the end, we are all
space dust, what does it matter what any of us do, or think, or say? We
then are but passing mites upon a vast and infinite stage. No one then
cares what you or I think, or whether we were the captains of our
souls. You may as well ask the rocks their opinion of race, or the
stars what they think of cabbages.

And, in any event, O captain of your soul, what of parents or teachers
or all others who have helped you along throughout your life? Are you
truly independent? Were you born without parents? Fed without farmers?
Clothed without textile workers? Housed without lumberjacks?