The Radiance of Being

I am, I am,
Fire, whispers,
I am haunted,
Vaunted layers of soulless grinding,
Minding manners in a cage,
I Rage, I Chafe, I Struggle on,
Alone! Alone!
Inside my mind,
I am blind and I am soft,
Aloft on wings of pure retreat,
Elite in thought but low in deed,
I need, and cannot deny it,
I bleed, and will not belie it,
I feed, and gain not by it,
For all the toil my soul endures,
I ache for the soil my eye demures,
The dirt of work and created things,
Where wings are beaten, grass is trod,
God, his essence pooled throughout,
Seeks to recompense the doubt,
And in the silence of the dawn,
Sings a song of hope reborn,
And we reply with our own,
Known, yet frightened,
We are haunted,
Fire, whispers,
We are, We are.