Oh! I have slipped the surly 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 sunlit 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 ever 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.

This is another old story – can’t date it exactly, but I do remember that I modified the ending when the wreckage was discovered on Nikumaroro. So it was probably written in 1990 or thereabouts.

I’ve always been pleased with this story, which despite its length and apparent polish was written in about two hours for a meeting of the writing circle I was attending at the time. I’d just read a biography of Earhart and this story basically came out of my deep immersion in the subject. Reading it back, I’m surprised by how structured it is, and how consistent the imagery is. None of that was deliberate; it just emerged in the writing process.

One irritation is that I no longer have much idea how much of it is historically or factually accurate – I know some of the details were taken directly from the biography and others I just made up for the purposes of the story. I don’t suppose I’ll ever know which incidents are real and which aren’t (although some are more obvious than others) without re-doing the research. Which I probably never will.

The wreckage found on Nikumaroro (home, incidentally, to these terrifying critters) turned out not to be conclusive. The efforts of dedicated researchers have turned up more tantalising evidence over the past two decades, but not enough to solve the mystery.

Amelia Earhart is still missing.