|
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-slit 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 ever 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.
by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (1922–41) |