[19Fordy]

V8: It greatly saddens me to know that you are not "speed shifting" as before. I pray that you feel a bit better knowing that you really are a treasure trove of knowledge and life experiences which you are always willing to share. Your posts have helped thousands of flathead fans. I always look forward and appreciate what you say. I have posted below the only poem I learned in high school written in 1875 by William Earnest Henley (1849-1903) that I refer to when the road gets rough. The poem is titled INVICTUS. I hope it gives you some comfort.
INVICTUS
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.

This poem is in the public domain.
About William Ernest Henley
William Ernest Henley, born August 23, 1849, was an influential British poet, perhaps best known for his poem “Invictus” (1875). He is the author of A Song of Speed (D. Nutt, 1903), Hawthorn & Lavender with Other Verses (D. Nutt, 1901), and For England’s Sake: Verses and Songs in Time of War (D. Nutt, 1900), among others. He died in Woking, England, on July 11, 1903.

About William Ernest Henley