There is an angel I know

Who waits in Sankt Hanshaugen

‘As if an angel dropped down from the clouds’ by William Blake, 1809

I must be feeling extra brave tonight.

This week I have a freshly written poem for you. I usually like to keep them to myself a bit longer before I share them, but tonight I am ready to let this one go.

For my readers in Oslo, you will likely know the angel statue by Gustav Vigeland in the cemetery at Sankt Hanshaugen. For those of my readers who are yet to visit Oslo (come see this magical city): there’s a beautiful statue of an angel here by one of Oslo’s most celebrated sculptors. It’s made of marble, but the feathers look so light!

I often like to pass by and give The Angel a wink, then stop for a moment to watch the ravens dancing in the winter skies.

I don’t have a photo - The Angel is covered up for the winter! But I’ve included a drawing from the poet William Blake. He wrote and painted about angels a lot, and said he saw them in the trees in South London when he was a boy.

Happy listening loves. Take good care of yourselves this week.

Eleanor Flowers

🌹

Angel

There is an angel I know

That waits in Sankt Hanshaugen

The cemeteries ravens all envy their feathers

The softest of the afterlife's pleasures

There is an angel I know

Who waits in Sankt Hanshaugen

They bear sorrow's rock upon their neck

A missing love, a secret story, an unpaid debt

There is an angel I know

That keeps watch over snoring souls

When I am sad, they're there for me

Just to the left of the crooked tree

And to this angel I offer up leaves

Scattered skeletons that I have gathered from the streets

I have so many problems

That they pile up to their knees

(It's nice to know my tears keep angels warm)

One leaf for each of my sorrows, given to the angel I know

Who carries the city's pain

And waits in Sankt Hanshaugen