Angel of Pain, I think thy face
Will be, in all the heavenly place,
The sweetest face that I shall see,
The swiftest face to smile on me.
All other angels faint and tire;
Joy wearies, and forsakes desire;
Hope falters, face to face with Fate,
And dies because it cannot wait;
And Love cuts short each loving day,
Because fond hearts cannot obey
That subtlest law which measures bliss
By what it is content to miss.
But thou, O loving, faithful Pain-
Hated, reproached, rejected, slain-
Dost only closer cling and bless
In sweeter, stronger steadfastness.
Dear, patient angel, to thine own
Thou comest, and art never known
Till late, in some lone twilight place
The light of thy transfigured face
Sudden shines out, and, speechless, they
Know they have walked with Christ all day.
Inference drawn, Joy is my pal, pain a companion. Realities faced by majority wonderfully portrayed. Thanks for sharing it here.
A topic not addressed very often- -at least I haven't seen poems about the angel of pain. I'm still absorbing her thoughts on this- -my first reaction was negative but the more I sit here contemplating what she has said, the more I see what she is getting at. Definitely a poem I want to read again and again..
Reading Helen Hunt Jackson, for the first time... and I must say that her verses have depth and so much meaning.
FOUR: such beautiful and touching words,5 Stars and to my Favourites. Congratulations being chosen as The Classic Poem Of The Day.
THREE: The most beautiful and touching lines for me are the three last lines: The light of thy transfigured face Sudden shines out, and, speechless, they Know they have walked with Christ all day.
TWO: The poem is an excellent poem, beautifully worded, touching, as for the words about the angels. Sensitive and beautiful poem.
ONE: it is not surprising that the poetess wrote this poem about pain, for she herself suffered from severe pain, for she died of stomach cancer, those were severe pains from which she had suffered.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Smile on me. Thanks for sharing this poem with us.