| In a long-ago time, when long ago peoples
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| were building cathedrals and raising up steeples,
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| they crafted stone creatures and set them on perches
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| to guard and protect and watch over the churches.
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| So gargoyles were born, and they stood night and day,
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| keeping evil and terrible spirits away.
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| And ne'er was a creature so true and so loyal
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| as the watchful, courageous, and fearless gargoyle.
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| But the years came and went, and the people did, too.
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| and in time, they forgot what their ancestors knew.
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| And whenever they passed by the gargoyles' lairs,
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| they trembled in fear at the gargoyles' stares.
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| And as time went along, people's fear turned to spite,
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| and they sneered and they cursed at the guardians of night:
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| "Demons!" they grumbled -- "grotesque!" and "horrid!"
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| "Those beasts don't belong on the house of the Lord!"
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| When the gargoyles heard these words that were spoken,
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| their stony old hearts became crumbled and broken.
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| Then storms rumbled in, and their eyes filled with rain,
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| and in stillness they stayed, alone and in pain.
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| But as it so happened, some angels were near,
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| and heeding the grief of a gargoyle's tear,
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| they each fluttered down from the heavens on high
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| to sit with the gargoyles beneath thundering skies.
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| Now, angels have ways of making things right,
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| so they stayed with the gargoyles all through the night.
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| Patting their heads and wiping their tears
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| and whispering life into gargoyle ears.
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| And soon all the gargoyles did magical things:
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| They gurgled and coughed and shook out their wings.
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| then together the angels and gargoyles took flight,
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| And they soared through the clouds on a blustery night.
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| And while over pastures and hills they were winging,
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| the voices of angels were radiantly singing
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| Music of healing and songs of rebirth
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| to all of the creatures in all of the earth:
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| "God bless the rain, and the storm clouds that bring it.
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| God bless the music, and the voices that sing it.
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| God bless the ones who sing everything wrong.
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| God bless the creatures who do not belong.
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| God bless the hearts and the souls who are grieving
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| for those who have left, and for those who are leaving.
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| God bless each perishing body and mind,
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| God bless all creatures remaining behind.
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| God bless the dreamers whose dreams have awoken.
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| God bless the lovers whose hearts have been broken.
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| God bless each soul that is tortured and taunted,
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| God bless all creatures alone and unwanted."
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| And the gargoyles beheld wherever they roamed
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| that the souls of the lost weren't really alone.
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| Each one had an angel, each one was protected,
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| and each one was cherished and loved and respected.
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| And so it is true with the gargoyles this day,
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| for all of the angels who love them have stayed.
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| Together they wait until days become nights,
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| to embark on their dark and most glorious flights.
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| So if you see shapes in the night sky, don't fear --
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| for it simply means angels and gargoyles are near!
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| Guarding the earth with their gentle night call:
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| God bless the gargoyles. God bless us all."
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