Barna's Crucifixion (2)

We work on this commission -- there's my son
below, mixing the plaster -- which is fine.
I'm not an angel. God chose not to shower
astounding gifts on me -- no, hear me, sir! -- 
as on his Chosen Ones. I don't resent it
-- not now. For man, there's no escape from work.
Our ambit was determined by The Fall.
And if I do this task, and do it well,
do I not please my God? And think again -- 
a thousand toilers in December mud
in earshot of these bells would switch with me
tomorrow, counting themselves blessed. Here
I'm quiet, I direct the work, and if
not warm, I'm neither rained nor spat upon -- 
that's something. No, I can't say that I'm happy.
It seems to me that few are born to that,
lead lucky lives, have touched the Saviour's hem.
Who of the rest of us, if honest, can
claim to be happy? Well, I certainly can't. 

Author's Note

Our ambit was determined by The Fall -- Standard Christian belief, well into the 20th century. By disobeying God and biting the apple, Adam and Eve condemned the rest of us to pain, toil and death.
have touched the Saviour's hem --(Luke 8:43-8) A woman suffering from an "issue of blood" touches the hem of Jesus Christ's robe, and all her problems go away