Standing alone in the bank today
Was an angel in disguise,
I knew by how she had combed her hair
By the sparkle in her eyes,
A dimple nestled in either cheek
And her lips were pink and fine,
They smiled just once when she looked at me
In an echo of God’s design.

We waited to be attended to
But the teller was so slow,
She let us stand in a queue of two
That had nowhere else to go,
My eyes flicked over the angel’s face
As she stood beside me there,
She must have thought I was more than rude
But I couldn’t help but stare.

I don’t go staring at everyone
It isn’t a trait of mine,
To garner up my attention you
Would have to be more than fine,
But here was an angel, true to life
And she’d come to use the bank,
I had no idea who’d sent her there,
I didn’t know who to thank.

I think I must have unsettled her
With my frank and open stare,
She’d shift uneasily on each foot
And pretend I wasn’t there,
I watched as there came a holy glow
Like a rose on either cheek,
And thought that I was unfair to her
It was time for me to speak.

I motioned once as she turned to me
That I had something to say,
She nodded and she acknowledged me
As she waited, looked my way,
‘I’m sorry if I embarrassed you,
But I couldn’t help but stare,’
And then I said, ‘but you’re beautiful,’
And her smile entranced me there.

After the teller had done with us
And we ended in the street,
I thought that the angel went away
Then I heard her pretty feet,
‘Whatever you do, it’s up to you,
You’re the keeper of the spell,
I only ask that the thing to do
Is please, Oh please don’t tell!’

David Lewis Paget