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.

[Coyote Poetry]

I like this story. I like the day of Church bells and newspapers being sold in the street. The poem made me wish for days of old. When sounds had meanings. I like the Bellman cried at the ending of this poem.
‘Your time is not forever,’
Thank you for a outstanding poem.
Coyote

[rosemary keogh]

I love poems like this. Has a great feel to it. I really enjoyed it. Thank you.

[A Wanderer of Dreams]

This was awesome! I love poems like this that have good rhythm and tell an amusing story. Even thought the Bellman seemed obnoxious he was definitely going to make his point! The mighty power of the damn ringing bell! :D

[Wendy Seames Garner]

I love the rhythm of your story telling. Such a treat, thank you for letting me enjoy it!

[Tate Morgan]

The irony is not lost on me with this one .The lesson dont judge a book by its cover i suppose.Eloquent prose As always and a story I will remember

[roarke]

for whom the bell tolls.... if one go they all go... it's a matter of where you stand. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything...

... and to think Joshua only had a trumpet....

lightning fast pace, movie reel into the visceral past... I'll remember to bring a bell the next time I'm called in for the sack....
Good stuff DLP.