Long Was I a Prisoner

Long was I a prisoner in rock and plaster cage;

Long had I been locked from sun and kept from pleasure’s page.

You peered in past walls I built, your pick and axe were true;

Your hammering with tools of trade effectively broke through.

And oh! the pain as on my heart you etched your loving hymn;

The light blazed in and blinded me, whose eyes had grown so dim.

As pen scraped glass, my soul bled blood, and in the bleeding, healed;

When clouded panes grew brighter still, my sentence was repealed!

My prison walls have been transformed into an abbey bright;

Your light shines through transparent soul, a window full of light.

And now the light can shine both ways, a barrier no more;

As you light me, I light my world, and in the lighting, soar!