My Desire to Fly

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surely 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 sunlight 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.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (1922 - 1941)
No 412 Fighter Squadron, RCAF

I have always wanted to fly. Back when I was a youngster, it was my plan to become a fighter pilot but, for whatever reason, that was not meant to be. My father was a fighter pilot during World War Two and I suppose that some of his stories may have intrigued me but regardless; it was my own dream of flying high the put me on that path.

I never made it to my destination but the love of flying has never waned. It was always there and always will be. Though I never did learn how to fly and quite likely never will, anything to do with flying has always been a passion of mine. I can only imagine what the feeling of “dancing the skies” or “touching the face of God” would feel like. I envy the individuals who can do all that the poem says and more and yet I am glad for them to have experienced all that flying has to offer.

So, the next time you watch a plane flying high, just remember that the pilot up there is doing “a hundred things you would not have dreamed of!”

See you later! Gotta fly!