An Ode to the Columbia Seven

On space shuttle Columbia,
Five men and two women
pushing back the frontier
of outer space;
Found their souls
flying with speed faster than sound --
to the space-station home
of God's caring and special grace.

People on Earth gazing upward
to the God-ordained heavens --
Fiery shuttle debris raining
from a startled sky;
A chorus of prayer
is lifted up to heaven,
like a thousand grieving mother's
heart-felt cry.

Of the seven, six American citizens,
One a native of India,
the seventh an Israeli war hero --
like 9/11, more of our global family die;
Columbia's final moments of flight,
may in the black hole of space,
forever quietly and silently lie.

To the family,
comrades and friends who loved them --
To the nations who admired these noble seven;
Their space flight is not over --
their exploring spirits are now
exploring -- the unexplored space
of our God's great universe
and His eternal resident heaven.