Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered
wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tum-
bling 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. 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.
John Gillespie Magee Jr.