Recently my wife and I attended the “home-going” service for a true hero who left behind an impressive legacy of courage, commitment, and service. Darryl Eugene Smith, died at 50 from complications of sickle cell anemia. David Rogers, a longtime friend and fraternity brother, paid tribute to him: “Although Darryl had sickle cell disease, sickle cell did not have him.” Darryl “always grabbed life by the horns, pushed himself to the limit, and embraced the consequential notion of possibility.”

In commenting about Darryl, David recited “Invictus,” a poem embodying the unconquerable soul of this remarkable man of courage and faith. Translated from Latin, the term means “unconquerable” or “undefeated.” As a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, Darryl was required to memorize the poem when he pledged. As I listened, I recall being a college freshman way back in the day, in 1961, when I pledged the same fraternity and had to memorize the same poem.

Although I memorized the poem during the pledging process, the work never actually “took” and never became embedded in my soul the same way as “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost or “Barter” by Sara Teasdale or Psalm 27. I still know these works by heart, now recognizing they helped lay the foundation in my soul, as I developed the poet’s “craft and sullen art.” Something about “Invictus” did not set well with me, however. Later as a born-again believer, I was initiated into the “True Brotherhood” of the Body of Christ, and I came to understand my reservations about wholeheartedly embracing the words of the poem.