I read this poem today. Its by William Ernest Henley. Something about this poem touched me. Probably its what i want to be.

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.

Right from the first verse this poem says "defiance, in face of all odds" in a way thats both very measured and very firm. Eminently quotable and frequently quoted, its something that really resonates with me. Especially the first four and last four lines.