by Russ » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:46 pm
I received this one from my friend Wayne Dalton who coaches at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT.
Tribute to patriots of freedom
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.
Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (September 1941)
How a pole vaulter reads it
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on grip taped poles,
Sunward I've vaulted, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - sprinted and planted and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring oer the bar,
I've chased the ever rising mark along, and flung
My eager body over endless bungied pits.
Up, up the long, ride of rebounding poles afar
I've topped the wind-swept bars with easy grace
Where never sprinter, or high jumper flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of vaulting blue,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Russ
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."