The Heavens Declare

The sky is for clouds and glorious sunsets,
Birds and musical strains,
A place to see nightly a splendorous display;
Fingerprints of God o’er the plains.

Who but the heroes, the gifted and able,
Would reach, examine, and find?
Who but the brave heart, the boisterous, and gallant
Would seek the Heavens to mine?



The sky can catch the wings of an eagle
Or a hummingbird on the wing
And lovers reach for the hands of each other,
Under beautiful sunsets in spring.

But, when things fall apart, even hurled by explosion,
The sky is a pitiful thing
And our tears fall like rain drops when we must surrender
Our heroes to earth’s domain.



There’s an unseen world, more real than the visual.
There’s a Loving Heart, there, in the air!
You may be sure hero souls were ushered
To Heaven with such gentle care.

And, I think, in the hallowed hallways of Heaven,
The answers to questions they asked
Will be given from Jesus to the heart of each one
So that they're satisfied, at last.

© 2003 by Joan Clifton Costner

In loving memory of the 7 astronauts from
STS107 Columbia Space Shuttle who
died February 1, 2003

Commander Rick Husband
Pilot William McCool
Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon
Payload Commander Michael Anderson
Mission Specialist David Brown
Mission Specialist Laurel Clark
Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla

They now touch and see the face of God.
May they rest in eternal peace.



The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely
to earth but we can pray they are safely home."

~ President George W. Bush ~

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May God bless you with peace, good health,
love and happiness all through 2003.

To read more inspirational poetry
by Joan Clifton Costner, please visit

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