| Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. (1869–1948). The Little Book of Modern Verse. 1917. |
| |
| 127. Azrael |
| | | By Robert Gilbert Welsh |
| |
| |
| THE ANGELS in high places | |
| Who minister to us, | |
| Reflect God’s smile,—their faces | |
| Are luminous; | |
| Save one, whose face is hidden, | 5 |
| (The Prophet saith), | |
| The unwelcome, the unbidden, | |
| Azrael, Angel of Death. | |
| And yet that veilèd face, I know | |
| Is lit with pitying eyes, | 10 |
| Like those faint stars, the first to glow | |
| Through cloudy winter skies. | |
| |
| That they may never tire, | |
| Angels, by God’s decree, | |
| Bear wings of snow and fire,— | 15 |
| Passion and purity; | |
| Save one, all unavailing, | |
| (The Prophet saith), | |
| His wings are gray and trailing, | |
| Azrael, Angel of Death. | 20 |
| And yet the souls that Azrael brings | |
| Across the dark and cold, | |
| Look up beneath those folded wings, | |
| And find them lined with gold. | |
| |
|
|
|
