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Through your prison window, they seem to mock your plight;
Sea birds diving, soaring in their play.
Daedalus, you must have longed to duplicate their flight --
I know how you must have felt that day.
For I saw that "one small step," when Man took to the sky.
Though I was young, a special longing grew in me that night.
Dreaming I could fly away, as Icarus once dreamed --
I thought the risk was worth it; and you did, too, it seemed.
You built some feathered wings, for each of you to wear,
And with them you escaped and flew away.
A joyous sense of freedom, carried through the air --
I know how you must have felt that day.
For I saw _Columbia_ rise into the sky.
I shivered, and my eyes were filled with tears of soaring pride.
Flying on her silver wings, as Icarus once flew --
I felt so happy, and I know you once felt that way, too.
Icarus, in folly, took his wings close to the sun;
They melted, and his feathers fell away.
How you must have cried out, as you watched your falling son --
I know how you must have felt that day.
For I saw the _Challenger_ falling from the sky;
And, helpless, I could only watch as seven heroes died.
Falling with her broken wings, as Icarus once fell --
You must have known the grief and anger that I know so well.
Instrumental interlude.
(This is required for all performances of the song,
as it symbolises
the thirty months between _Challenger's_ flight
and the launching of
_Discovery_.)
It must have been so difficult, to leave your son behind
And doggedly continue on your way;
Put aside your pain, and determination find --
I know how you must have felt that day.
For I saw _Discovery_ brave the morning sky,
Reclaiming our lost legacy, and once again I cried.
Even though we still recall our comrades who are gone,
Like you, we have realized we must continue on.
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