Ring the Bell, Watchman!
Henry Clay Work 1832 (Middletown, Connecticut) – 1884 (Hartford, Connecticut)
High is the belfry the old sexton stands,
Grasping the rope with his thin bony hands;
Fix'd is his gaze, as by some magic spell,
Till he hears the distant murmmer,
Ring, ring the bell.
"Ring the bell, watchman! ring! ring! ring!
Yes, yes! the good news is now on the wing;
Yes, yes! they come, and with tidings to tell --
Glorious and blessed tidings --
Ring, ring the bell!"
Baring his long silver locks to the breeze,
First for a moment he drops on his knees;
Then with a rigor that few could excel,
Answers the welcome bidding,
Ring, ring the bell.
Hear! from the hilltop, the first signal gun
Thunders the word that some great deed is done;
Hear! thru' the valley the long echoes swell,
Ever and anon repeating,
Ring, ring the bell.
Bonfires are blazing and rockets ascend --
No meager triumphs such tokens portend;
Shout, shout! my brothers, for "all, all is well!"
'Tis the universal chorus,
Ring, ring the bell.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 63 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | aabxB ccbxB ddbcB eebcB ffbxB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 902 |
Words | 171 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
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"Ring the Bell, Watchman!" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/17284/ring-the-bell,-watchman!>.
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