From NOVAE TERRAE, April 1938

PRELUDE TO THE CONQUEST OF SPACE

By Arthur C. (Ego) Clarke

I shot a rocket into the air,
It fell to earth I know not where,
But 50 grammes of T.N.T.,
Exploded in the Rectory.

I shot a rocket into space,
Towards the full moon's beckoning face,
And was rewarded for my pains,
By blowing up the Sea of Rains.

I shot a rocket into the air,
But notwithstanding all my care,
Five hundred tons of dynamite,
Blew San Francisco out of sight.

(Data entered by Judy Bemis)