the tone of the big bell settles in the dust

of this small market town in county meath

and on the stained glass window still

the sun-marked resonance of bell

 

circles of uninscribed sound

uncaged

through all the cerebral centuries

 

chimes and chants for christ the king

chimes of crucifix, pyx and plate

 

these bells have blessed the insouciant faithful

buttressed, battered, no-man mattered

through all the occupied centuries

 

turning dust to dust again

straining to the music of bells.