The Bell

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 (Boston) – 1882 (Concord)



I love thy music, mellow bell,
I love thine iron chime,
To life or death, to heaven or hell,
Which calls the sons of Time.

Thy voice upon the deep
The home-bound sea-boy hails,
It charms his cares to sleep,
It cheers him as he sails.

To house of God and heavenly joys
Thy summons called our sires,
And good men thought thy sacred voice
Disarmed the thunder's fires.

And soon thy music, sad death-bell,
Shall lift its notes once more,
And mix my requiem with the wind
That sweeps my native shore.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

28 sec read
535

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD XXXX AEXE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 488
Words 95
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. more…

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    "The Bell" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/29862/the-bell>.

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