Bells

Ringers
Believe them tamed,
Tethered by velvet ropes
And mesmerised by numbers.

But bells
Harbour a savage power,
Able to swing the unwary ringer
From his feet
And crack his skull
Against the belfry tower.

Bells
Nourish a will to freedom
Like the winds they ride;
Can pound a distant ear
Repeatedly
To madness.

Even at rest,
Upended in the cobwebbed dark
There is a menace
In the unclappered mouths.

Yet, used with deference
These throats can tumble forth
Tumults of joy
Beyond all human tongue;
Or make a single note
Speak
Everything.