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 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.

– William Ernest Henley

Source: Family Friend Poems

Thoughts after dark

Subdued by drugs and booze

And dreamless sleep

Thoughts soon forgotten

– Katie Rose Waechter 

The sweetest thing I’ve ever seen

A breathing sunflower blossoming in front of me

With blue grey eyes where the ocean meets the sky

And a perfect smile that money can’t buy

Your laughter is love in its purest form

Your life brings light to any rainstorm

You are the sun and moon sublime

A beautiful, kleine Madeline

– Katie Rose Waechter

This poem is dedicated to my little, beautiful niece, Madeline Alina Rojas