The angel

In childhood's early days,

I often heard them speak of angels

Who would exchange Heaven's sublime bliss

For the Earth's sun

So that, when an anxious heart in dread

Is full of longing, hidden from the world;

So that, when it wishes silently to bleed

And melt away in a trickle of tears;

So that, when its prayer ardently

Pleads only for release,

Then the angel floats down

And gently lifts it to Heaven.

Yes, an angel has come down to me,

And on glittering wings

It leads, far away from every pain,

My soul now heavenward!