Angels If They Are Good Are Transparent Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

angels if they are good are transparent
so that their message shines; not them.
they step aside for the Word made clear

and disappear themselves not even
into themselves but further away.
they make no friends but God

yet they can weep to watch our sleep
and stir the waters that were still before
where the wounded come:

endless streaming over darkened hills.
do angels dream I wondered; maybe
you wondered, too.

or are we their wondering?
we who still can't find our way without a nightlight;
no longer in our infancy.

and in distress,
even while laughing,
are they our looking glass?

are they the passing breeze?

mary angela douglas 28 november 2015