Disclaimer: Since this is a parody, probably less than half of it belongs to me. The rest, as well as the quoted text of the original poem, belongs to William Ernest Henley.
Invocatio
Out of the night that covered me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank the only God that be
For His salvation of my soul.
In the fell clutch of devils' hordes
To Him alone I've cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of swords
My head is bloody but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
All shadow's Horror then shall fade,
And so the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
He set me on the straitened gate
Though charged with punishments my scroll;
He is the master of my fate:
He is the captain of my soul.
A/N: The problem with loving good poetry—though I suppose it crops up in other genres as well—is that it is so fun to read, and too easy to accidentally memorize, even the poems whose form and style are Very Good but whose content is, for various reasons, Not. In this case, Henley's philosophy/theology is Not. Since I couldn't stop reading it, then realized I was accidentally reciting it to myself…*ahem*…I decided a serious parody was in order. It was surprisingly easy: so many of Henley's images fit right in Invocatio, as much as they did in Invictus.
By the way, Invictus is Latin for Unconquerable, and Invocatio for an Invocation, or Calling Upon, usually used in reference to God.
(Note, 8/31/18: I altered line six of Invocatio from Invictus's original "I have not winced nor cried aloud," which I had left unchanged in the parody, to "To Him alone I've cried aloud." While the former works in the same way as does "My head is bloody but unbowed," I feel that the change is a better reflection of Christian theology, as well as a direct reference to the title.)
In case you want to see how "accurate" the parody is, I've quoted the original text below (thanks to Wikipedia):
Invictus
by William Ernest Henley
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.
That's it! Did you like my little parody? Favorite lines? (They'll probably be the ones I can't take credit for…). May the Great Captain be with you, and have a lovely day.