With heaven’s own light the sculptor shone—

He had caught the angel-vision.

“Sculptors of life are we, as we stand,

With our soul uncarved before us,

Waiting the hour, when at God’s command,

Our life-dream passes o’er us.

If we carve it then on the yielding stone,

With many a sharp incision,

Its heavenly beauty shall be our own—

Our lives that angel-vision.”