Every angel is terrifying
And yet,
alas,
I invoke you,
almost deadly birds of the soul,
knowing about you, 
where are the days of Tobias,
when one of you,
veiling his radiance,
stood at the front door,
slightly disguised for the journey,
no longer appalling;
(a young man like the one
who curiously peeked through the window).
But if the archangel now, perilous, from behind the stars
took even one step down toward us:
our own heart, beating
higher and higher,
would beat us to death.
Who are you?
From Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies
(The Second Elegy)