The Monk and the starry sky

I climb the stairs to wonder at the starry sky
To dream and dream that I might one day fly

Though pain in flesh and bones invade me
They cannot smother my desire to be free

My faith holds strong and true though fiercely challenged daily
I prayer and prayer with all my heart and soul thou will not fail me

Night air cold and chill brings dampness on my well worn cloth
The droplets that now form are gentle, kind and bear no wroth

Creatures of the night howl and whistle to warn and pronounce
There comes the old man in cowl and cloak who will not denounce

Holy that he be, they say he is wise and pure and does not lie
Yet here he is in the deepest night dreaming that he might one day fly

I look up and the darkness beckons, the stellar lights now seem dim
Inside my mind I recall and repeat the most holy grateful hymn

More than one thousand times I have made this journey to this very place
It brings me closer to the heavens above and I strain to be nearer to grace

Wishing to leave this earth and go to my destiny so mighty and high
So I shall keep coming as a pilgrimage here hoping that I can one day fly