The Bellman

He rang it in the marketplace,

He rang it in the street,

Old Silas was the Bellman

In the village of Purfleet,

He’d rung the bell for sixty years,

He’d rung the bell for war,

He’d rung it for the harvest

But would ring the bell no more!

 

The Mayor and all his councillors

Had met within the Hall,

Discussed the ponderous questions

That would bear upon them all,

Their gowns were trimmed with ermine

And the mayor, he wore his chain,

The solemn Majesty of State

Was heard in their refrain!

 

‘We must dismiss the Bellman,’

Said the hoary Abel Creep,

‘He rings it at the strangest times,

I just can’t get to sleep!’

‘Agreed,’ said Horace Fumblewit,

It’s more than time enough,

I thought that he’d be dead by this…’

‘Hear hear!’ said Toby Gruff.

 

They called him to the chamber

And delivered him the score,

Old Silas staggered back in shock,

They’d rocked him to the core!

He raised the bell above his head

And gave a mighty ‘Clang!’

Then jumped up on their table

Where they sat, their ears rang!

 

‘I’ve been the Bellman sixty years,

My father taught me then,

His father went before him, rang

The bell for Inkerman;

But way, way back before that time

My forebears had a stake,

They warned of the Armada,

Rang the bell for Francis Drake!’

 

He stomped along their table

In his coarse old hob-nailed boots,

He silenced their authority

To rule in mean disputes,

For every time a councillor

Would seek to raise his voice,

The bell would drown his utterance,

It gave them little choice!

 

‘There’s been a Bellman in this burgh

Right back, before King John,

You think you petty underlings

Can rule once I am gone?

Your ancestors lie buried in

The gravel by the Church,

While mine live on in history…

I’ll knock you off your perch!

 

He raised the bell and made it peal,

It rocked the ancient hall,

The walls shook with vibrations

‘Til the roof began to fall,

The beams came crashing down in a

Scenario from Hell,

‘Your time is not forever,’ cried

The man who rang the bell!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Mark]

The message seems to me to be that, whenever the marble-mouthed mutterers begin to sling their elf-supposed weight around, we need to have one with his feet firmly grounded in history, to sound that unmistakably clear knell of truth, which will shatter the illusions ego-born.

[Clayton Bardwell]

"Horace Fumblewit" I love these names you come up with.

I've retired and now work part time at the pleasure of a much younger man. I wonder when the bell shall toll for me.

[Marie]

I loved this the firt time I read it, and I still do.

[Justin Littlefield]

What a relative piece! While I read this it reminded me of our modern times and what NEEDS to be done. The old man's bell needs to ring through the streets and awaken the dreamers!

[Katrina Mckeown]

an incredible tale being toled in this well penned piece, an enjoyable read, thanks for sharing! :)

[Maria.F.T]

Simple, nice

[ba_mcfarlane]

I had to come back, read this again. this one is so damned good! David, it's like when I treat myself to a really good bottle of red. I'm always pleased, never let down. Keep it up my friend, let your light shine, and your talent flow.
TC Brian

[Stacey Watts]

This was a very well written story. It was very captivating. I enjoyed reading it immensely.

[ba_mcfarlane]

Alfred Noyes would not happen to be in your family tree, perchance? If not, you could have fooled me.
This is completely brilliant, and absolutely top drawer. The richness of your work, it demands revisiting over and over, for the new pleasurable nuances to be discovered, and pleasing jolts of sly skill that went unnoticed in previous reads.

This is the work of a wordsmith who when assigning a role to words, demands that each meets a purpose, each contributes to the pleasure within the piece; and not one syllable misplaced.
I'm going to read the rest of your stuff over the next while. I know I will be impressed, again and again.
My admiration and kudos, sir. You are damned good.
Bravo.

[TL Boehm]

Incredible - I adore a poem that tells a story and you seem to excel at the craft. And you are mechanically brilliant.