Page:Poems Kimball.djvu/272

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
THE BELL IN THE TOWER.
I HEAR the bell in the high church-tower
      Striking the hour;
The hushed Night hearkens like one who stands
In sudden awe with uplifted hands.

A Spirit up in the tower doth dwell,
      And when the bell
Peals out the hours with a measured chime,
I hear him turning the sands of time.

He says: "Life dieth with every breath;"
      Whispers of death:
"It is the fall of the flower of earth;
The promise-seed of immortal birth."

He speaks to the striving world below:
      "Why do ye so?
Will all the treasure that hand can hold
Buy sweeter sleep in the churchyard mould?

"Behold one God over great and small
      Judgeth ye all;
Ask Him for grace in the morning light,
And pray for pardon and peace at night."

254