Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed,
And joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,
And done a hundred things you have not dreamed of,
Wheeled and soared
And swung high in the sunlit silence.
Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along,
And flung my eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent lifting mind,
I've trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
(date & copyright unknown)
I have been looking for the above poem for a very long time. Just recently is was sent by one of my friends.... it just so happens that it was already on the internet. It was used as a dedication to the crew of Columbia, lost February 2, 2003. Therefore, I can do no less than the same.
