Ode To A Bell

You were just a bell, they said,

a bell which swings back and forth

and rings and rings for us.

Men clambered

into yellow boots

hurrying to your beat.

Our mothers and fathers

heard your mighty song

and watched heroes face fire.

With gratitude

they farmed and traded and thrived.

But hopyards ceded to asphalt

horses to barn,

train whistles to silence.

You nearly succumbed

as sirens wailed up Main.

Until the Muses

moseyed into town

to light new fire. 

Now boots stomp and dance

Voices chime in song, poetry and tales

teens fall into stage love.

Artists bend to draw a bell,

just a bell, they say,

which swings back and forth

and rings and rings for us.

~ Deborah Grossman ©