HIGH FLIGHT
by
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.Oh, I have slipped the surly bounds 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 thousand things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hovering 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 windswept 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.
Trite, but today of all days, true.
Not trite, but perfectly chosen
THE GREEN HILLS OF EARTH
Let the sweet fresh breezes heal me
As they rove around the girth
Of our lovely mother planet
Of the cool, green hills of Earth.
We rot in the moulds of Venus,
We retch at her tainted breath.
Foul are her flooded jungles,
Crawling with unclean death.
[ — the harsh bright soil of Luna —
— Saturn’s rainbow rings —
— the frozen night of Titan — ]
We’ve tried each spinning space mote
And reckoned its true worth:
Take us back again to the homes of men
On the cool, green hills of Earth.
The arching sky is calling
Spacemen back to their trade.
ALL HANDS! STAND BY! FREE FALLING!
And the lights below us fade.
Out ride the sons of Terra,
Far drives the thundering jet,
Up leaps a race of Earthmen,
Out, far, and onward yet —
We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the friendly skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.
– Robert A. Heinlein, 1951
FYI, “High Flight” is World War II-era poem written by Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee Jr., an American citizen. He gave his life flying with my country’s Royal Canadian Air Force, which accepted his service and sacrifice before America had entered the war.
There are many kinds of pioneers. Pilot Officer Magee was one, too.