Bad Faery

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Then we must be bold

I missed the lunar eclipse on Wednesday night. After experiencing several days of clear blue skies, the weather took a turn for the worse. Rain, strong winds and heavy cloud cover ended any chance of seeing it.

the Earth as seen from Apollo 11

However tonight I did have a lunar encounter another variety. I watched the documentary In the Shadow of the Moon, an account of the Apollo moon missions in which the surviving crew members tell their story in their own words.

Watching them talk about their experiences, what it meant to them, so much more than beating the Soviets to the landing, the sheer human bravery of it all, I found myself thinking of this poem, written by a World War II fighter pilot who lost his life in a mid-air collision during the war. It has become a favourite amongst both pilots and astronauts:

High Flight

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

Tonight the clouds cleared just enough to allow me to see the moon, barely past full and I thought of those 12 men, still the only humans to set foot on another celestial body.

Posted by Bad Faery on 02/21 at 11:54 PM
Posted in: General • Poetry • TV/Movies •