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Synchronicity woven by fate’s volatile hands
   Gave rise to calamity in deceptive, calm skies
   Creating tragedy so harsh that reason defies
Into a nation’s sad heart, a mortal arrow lands

"Hear ye, teachers," the benign invitation had been sent
   Demonstrate the right stuff, be the first launched into space
   Compete they did earnestly for this distinguished place
To young mother Christa McAuliffe, NASA gave consent

That same day Florida’s governor prepared to launch
   His much anticipated U.S. Senate campaign
   En route to his first stop in Jacksonville on a state plane
Bob Graham’s speech was well prepared for supporters staunch

From the air, Graham watched as a sudden flash appeared
   Souls of seven astronauts dispatched to heaven’s gate
   His campaign aborted as circumstance would dictate
And the hopes of a traumatized country disappeared

First teacher in space lost abruptly, never to return
   Husband and daughter left behind, forever changed
   Profound tributes to a beleaguered space program arranged
Perils of space travel countless mourners would discern



* Written February 1, 2019 for Emile Pinet's Enclosed Rhyme Contest.

* On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just seconds after launch from Cape Canaveral.  Ironically, Florida Governor Graham, accompanied by members of the Capital Press Corps, did not understand what they had seen in the sky until after their plane landed in Jacksonville.  The excitement of a campaign launch was quickly dispelled by the depth of the tragedy that claimed the lives of teacher Christa McAuliffe and six other astronauts.  His campaign postponed, Graham returned to the state capital to observe a period of national mourning.  The last words the astronauts heard from the control tower were, "Throttle Up, Challenger."
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