VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Steve|DATE|1386327962|CONTENT|As an aside, the use of poetry to self-inspire is fascinating. I’ve never understood why more truth and resonance is found in language when the writer is constrained by metre and form, as opposed to being free to write. Maybe the constraint forces the writer to consider every word more carefully.

The poems themselves are neutral, of course. Inner strength and conviction supports the good and the bad equally (much like religion, in my view). Invictus gave Mandela hope and courage, but was also used as last words by Timothy McVeigh. Mandela’s other famously favourite piece, The Man in the Arena, was read by him to the SA rugby team before that epic 1995 final. Picture it being read in his voice, and imagine the atmosphere in that changing room. Then again, it is also tattooed on the arm of Miley Cyrus.|IP-ADDRESS|217.36.222.79|MODERATIONFLAG|