the tale of the little angel

there was once a little angel
who had a broken wing
sad because she could no longer fly,
she decided she’d no longer sing

so she left her heavenly home
waved farewell to the celestial choir
& wished herself down to earth,
to see if a new talent she could acquire

soon the angel found herself
on earth’s solid ground
where she wandered, open-mouthed
at all the chaos that she found

the people in the north
disliked the folks who lived east
they were denying their poorer brethren
a share in their Christmas feast

while the people of the west
scorned all those dwelling in the south
there was hatred & incivility
spewing from everybody’s mouth

& the angel was aggrieved
for God had created man for bliss
now it seemed as if all mankind,
in their greed, had forgotten this

they were worshipping money:
dollars, pounds & pence
people selling their souls for money
to the angel this made no sense

men & women in thrall to things
& the thrill of their acquisitions
wanting bigger, better, more
losing their once happy dispositions

rapes & murders & child abuse
destruction of the land
lines at food banks & homeless shelters
the poor angel didn’t understand

she’d come from a perfect place
where life was heavenly
surely this disorder
was never meant to be

so she cried unto her God,
“My Father, I feel so blue,
I’m one tiny angel whose wing is broken,
what would you have me do?”

& God smiled down on the angel
before he replied
gently asking her,
“Did you forget how my Son died?

greatness I bestowed on you –
I blessed you with the gift of song
but you bemoan your broken wing,
you chose to forget that you are strong

mankind is flawed, but you can help them
& it’s such a simple thing
unlock that power behind your jaws, child:
I bid you open your mouth & sing”

the angel realised that her silence
had been a major blunder
as closing her eyes & opening her mouth
she sang a song more powerful than thunder

a song of redemption & forgiveness
the joys of heaven above
soothing words that offered hope,
& a reminder of God’s eternal love

as she sang her strength returned
peace suffused her soul
& the little angel’s broken wing
was again made whole

so she flew back home to God
& her beloved celestial choir
there to sing endlessly
hitting notes that were ever higher

but what happened down on earth?
well, the hostility did cease
& for the first time in a long time,
all God’s children knew His peace

copyright © 2016 KPM