I knew a man caught up in paradise
Who stepped beyond this flesh curtain
Long enough to see for certain
Sights that strive against the eyes

He walked a path that angels trod
Weaving his way through seraphim
Ducking mighty cherubim
Onward to the house of God

There he walked among the martyr
Men who'd bent but did not break
Women who had faced the stake
Who's belief they would not barter

On beyond untainted orchard
Onward over the crystal lake
Leaving memories in his wake
On to the house of the lord

Finally he stood at the foot
Of a cliff at eternity's edge
Staring out over the ledge
At a people caked in soot

Out over his former life
His mangled body fraught with flaws
His weary spirit bound with laws
That twisted his side like a knife

And at that moment he understood
It wasn't in his fate to stay
In mountains where the angels play
The must return to cities crude

And all of heaven heard his cry
"Please take this thorn from my side
That I might stand with pride
Before it is my day to die"

But pride was not to be his fate
And as with all who are loyal
But not yet annointed with oil
Until his day of glory waits