Almighty ruler of the all
Whose power extends to great and small,
Who guides the stars with steadfast law,
Whose least creation fills with awe –
Oh grant Thy mercy and Thy grace
To those who venture into space.
– Robert A. Heinlein
Postscript:
Heinlein is a writer whose work was different in so many ways from any other SF I’d read, and some of his characters were so out there that they redefined out there for me at the time. His vision of future Earth included space travel and this was a hymn he’d adapted from the Navy Hymn, which starts thus:
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!You can read a biography of Heinlein here.
Tagged: hymn, military, poems by a fictional character, religion, rhyme, rhythm, Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction