The Celestial Charge

I saw an angel
Named Sorrow
Who shone like all the stars
With gleaming white skin
And silver hair

In her hands she grasped a sword
Forged from the bones of Abel
The remains of the golden calves
And the treasures of the kings of Israel and Judah
It cut the air
Not with a whistle
But with a song
Taken from a Galilean mountain
She called the song Conviction
And the blade she called Despair


I saw an angel
Called Terror
With wings of flame
And eyes like the ocean depths

In one hand he held a shofar
That bellowed like thunder
And in the other he clutched a whip
As fierce and bright as lightning
The shofar had sounded when Moses returned to Egypt
It had announced the births of the prophets
And had called Babylon out against the Israelites
The whip had driven Lucifer from Heaven
It had been sent as a gift to Elijah
And had struck the money changers at the Temple
It was in the light that brought Saul to his knees


I saw an angel
Whose name was Joy
With a form like a child
And wings colored like the dawn
And a woolen tunic covered in dirt
And a ring shaped from a cherry blossom

In one hand was a bloody rag
Which she called Grace
In the other was a jar of honey
Which she called Glory or Delight


Sorrow glided down
Impossibly fast
On a gentle breeze
The idols fell to dust at her approach
She came upon a feast of Baal
And cut down the shadowy lords of the dance
And scattered the celebrants
She came upon an emperor
Who lit torches to obscure the sun
And built monuments
To distract from the mountains
With one stroke
She made of his empire
A mere ruin

Terror descended
In a raging storm
He sounded his horn
And stacked bricks tumbled down
Unable to contain their resonating song
His whip lashed out
And profane lips fell to kiss the earth
Wherever he went
That which was mild
Became fierce
That which was safe
Became dangerous

Together
The two made war
Against every human heart

Joy went down to earth
Following after her parents
They went before her
To break the crooked things
And she came after
To make them straight
When Despair cut away every illusion
She emerged to show the one true hope
After Terror brought men to their knees
Joy gave them a new strength to lift the weight of their inheritance
On the foundations of palaces that could not stand against her parents
She built strongholds for her King
To voices robbed of nonsense and boasts
She gave a new song of love

When Sorrow had pierced my heart
And Terror broke the pillar of my pride
And the two turned to fight relentlessly
Against the Enemy of my soul
She made me to taste
of the Delight of the Lord