Seven Set Free, Jan.28,1986 (A Tribute To The Space Shuttle Challenger) Poem by Laurence Overmire

What was it
That mocked sweet sleep
A message from beyond
Understanding
Some doom
Portended
In the mist of a dream
No heed taken…

Challenger
Daring courier to the impregnable Dark
Blazing heavenward
Bold and confident
To touch the stars…
Who saw the finger
Death’s black-gloved hand
Slip to the trigger
And pull
Seven helpless victims
Through the fires of hell?
Peer in dumb silence
Mortals below
Through clearing smoke
Falling debris
Your eyes cannot see
Seven set free
Soaring still to the great unknown
They challenge us all.

Take heed
And listen
Sounds in the night
Speak truths in the light
While the riddles of life
Unanswered
Remain.