Chosen
She stalls submitting her application,
certain she won’t have a chance,
confirms her feelings in the final round
of interviews: how smart the other teachers
seem—all science-y and math-y!
Yet she—Christa McAuliffe—is chosen:
so all-American. So girl-next-door. So perfect
to be the face of space. She will make
all those tax dollars spent on NASA seem
like the best investment ever.
She does the talk show rounds, giggles
as she chats about flying up into the stratosphere,
unaware that engineers in Utah discover
the shuttle’s O-rings fail in frigid weather,
unaware they fight to stop the launch,
unaware those in power will not allow more delays:
America needs this success; America must be first.
Before liftoff, a reporter climbs inside the spacecraft,
expects to see what we’ve all been sold: Christa’s bubbly,
boundless enthusiasm, but shortly before countdown,
her eyes: surge of sheer terror. When the Challenger explodes
73 seconds after leaving earth, debris flashes, flowers
like fireworks: how all lies blossom in the beginning,
before they consume everything
you ever hoped for.
© Jennifer Randall Hotz
Jennifer Randall Hotz’s work is featured or forthcoming in Orange Blossom Review, Red Rock Review, Whale Road Review, Rust & Moth, and The MacGuffin, among other publications. She won 1st place in poetry for the Virginia Writers Club 2023 Golden Nib Awards. Find her at www.jenniferrandallhotz.com.
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