When I was in grade 7 or 8 I had no interest in school. I just wanted to be outdoors doing stuff and playing sports. Then we had to learn Invictus. I was transfixed. It’s still my favorite poem.
I learned the poem when I was 8 years old. I later read that Henley was friends with Robert Louis Stevenson. Then apparently they didn’t get along so well after Stevenson published “Treasure Island” which featured Long John Silver, the pirate with one leg and an attitude. Go figure! :)