IN the wake of the international tragedy that was the explosion of Space Shuttle Columbia, I and Team 1135 propose that we further commemorate the brave astronauts who died upon the shuttle, by letting there be a competition in the Spirit of FIRST, of excellence, for a written tribute to be read at each competiton, regional and national, so that their deaths may not have been in vain, but would inspire greater excellence in the world. Perhaps poetry or an inspirational speech…i’ve enclosed a copy of poem I wrote in rememberance of this…
Hope in a Shattered World
Dedicated to the family, friends, and crew of those who died on the Space Shuttle Columbia…
A ruined town, a shattered nation,
the death of seven, a blow to all.
Walking in rubble of demolished dreams,
I gaze at the weeping, struck by the fall
Burning wings of fiery light,
On which a corpse is a dreadful sight,
Life once so vibrant, gone in a flash,
Only ashes remain from tragedy’s blast.
Disordered destruction and fire within,
In a vessel of night, of yang and of yin.
Massive eruptions at shattered flesh burn,
So that one crosses over, not to return.
Shards of debris are all that remain,
But let no one say that they challenged in vain,
Though burned to a remnant of shattered, singed bone,
Their souls are foredoomed to be never alone
Proud and defiant, we will always stand tall,
And to the troops of despair shall we never fall,
And hoping 'gainst hope, against evils that be,
We challenge the earth, the sky, and the sea.
Matthew David Lee