Thou tread’st with
Seraphims the vast Abyss—²
Only if there are angels in your
Head can you ever possibly, See one—³
We whisper to any handy
Angel in the sky …⁴
We deliver Seraphic proclamations of
The Pure—with a deluging onwardness—⁵
Angels with their silver wings o’ershade the
Ground now Sacred by thy reliques made.⁶
Angels clear eyes love, love foresee,
Love through Eternity!⁷
From what they are: Spirit—
From what they do: Angel—⁸
Since angels may effects of bodies shew,
God angels’ gifts on bodies may bestow.⁹
How long at that Celestial wick
The angels—Labor diligent—¹⁰
¹ Anonymous c. 14th, Of a Rose, a Lovely Rose
² John Dryden, Ode
³ Mary Oliver, The World I Live In
⁴ Gwendolyn Brooks, Riot
⁵ Wallace Stevens, The Comedian as the Letter C
⁶ Alexander Pope, Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady
⁷ Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Loved Once
⁸ St. Augustine, Exposition One of Psalms 103:4
⁹ Robert Southwell, Of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar
¹⁰ Emily Dickinson, Good Night!