Bell Poems

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"Ring Out, Wild Bells" is a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. It is a Christmas holiday poem.

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

This poem was sent to us by Doug and Martha Sturomski.

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American Bell Association
By Ruth C. Anderson
The Bell Tower, Volume XXX, No. 1, January 1972

A merican Bell Association means
M emories, mementoes, music, and mirth to
E very member living all over the earth.
R inging for brotherhood, tolling for death,
I ndependence ringing every July Fourth.
C onventions, regionals, collections large or small
A dding knowledge of treasures so precious to all,
N otations of origin, use, dimensions, and

B ells – church bells, school bells, hand and alarm bells
E very known shape, size, media, and tone.
L etters of query, of friendship, of gratitude,
L etters of welcome to greet members new.

A ll members seek to find for their collections
S ouvenirs of places visited, reminders of friends,
S ocial events, or historical happenings,
O r bells once worn by faithful animals,
C rystal, ceramic, clay, cork, wood, silver, gold, or brass
I nscribed, embossed, bejeweled, or plain – it matters not
A s long as each bell brings personal joy.
T emples to visit, towers to climb, bells to rub,
I nvite every bell lover to share his hobby
O f collecting and researching bell lore.
N o time to be lonely; just time to find that elusive “one more”!

[Carolyn Whitlock]

Treasure Hunting
by Doris H. Granger

When the summer season rolls around
At antique markets I am found.
I’ll travel in almost any direction
Searching for bells for my collection.

My eye is trained to quickly scan
By knickknacks, china, vase or fan
But look! Is that a bell ahead?
(It’s a heavy paperweight instead.)

This disappointment fails to inhibit
And I move on to another exhibit.
“Do you have any bells?” I calmly say
(He sold a collection yesterday).

The next table has a bell with a crack.
When I ring it, a dull thud answers back.
But the dealer says, “It’s a real good ringer.”
“All it needs is a different ‘dinger’.”

These small frustrations I really don’t mind.
There’s always the hope of making a “find.”
Good things don’t come easy; I’m still on my quest
For more bell treasures to add to the rest.

[Carolyn Whitlock]

Cowbells
by Mary Alter Collins

Cowbells are assurance against loneliness,
On the hills and down the lanes to slow winding brooks,
They mingle their music with the call of the quail,
With the fragrance of the clover.

Note: This poem was printed in Vol. 1, No. 1 of The Bell Tower, published by The National Bell Collectors Club, November 15, 1940.

[Carolyn Whitlock]

Ring of Bells
by Nancy Byrd Turner

A little town across the sea is called "The Ring of Bells."
What a tale of olden times the tinkling title tells!
Bells of horses drawing nigh, bells of slender spires,
Bells of reindeer ringing high above the Christmas fires,
Bells of sheep along the lane, cows across the fells -
I hope sometime I'll spend a night in little Ring of Bells!


Note: This poem was printed in Vol. 1, No. 2 of The Bell Tower, published by The National Bell Collectors Club, December 15, 1940.

[Carolyn Whitlock]

The Season of the Bells
by Ella Colter Johnston

As daffodils and tulips flood the Spring
With color and the hope which Easter tells,
So Winter has its joyous gift to bring -
Glad Christmas - the gay season of the bells;
The tiny bells that tinkle from the trees
All tinsel-trimmed, with rainbow lights aglow;
Bright doors festooned with jingling sleigh bells, these
Reminders of romantic sleighs and snow;
Salvation Army lassies sing and play
Old carols as they ring their bells and plead
All passersby whose hearts are warm and gay
To fill their kettles for their brothers' need;
Cathedral carillons, with joy gone wild,
Proclaim the birthday of the Christmas Child.

[RonaKesselman]

From the booklet: "Nostalgia Bells" by: Lew Hays L.H.D
published: 1995

BELL COLLECTORS


Collector's prize:
An antique bell
with history,
a tale to tell.

In antique shops
The brouse around;
Usually know
A prize when found.

Flea markets, too,
Rate very high,
The place to search
to make a buy.

Meetings also
Hunting places;
Missing ones found
Make happy faces.

Friends who they know,
or chance to meet,
May share .... and make
Some set complete.

Collectors are
A happy throng:
Good friends and bells
They prize life-long!


Note: "Nostalgia Bells" by Lew Hays, L.H.D., was printed for Pittsburgh Chapter in honor of the chapter accepting the responsibility of hosting the annual convention that was held in Pittsburgh 1996.

[Carolyn Whitlock]

Super Bell Sunday, 2012

written by H. Kevin Harkins of Norwich, Connecticut


Ring for New England or ring for New York,
Ring for those big handsome hunks of raw pork:
Ring that the best team may prosper and win,
Or ring that the keg may be tapped and begin.

Ring for the heroes, “Long may they last!”,
Let bells tell the story of those recently passed:
The women out shopping at stores far and near,
You and the pork rinds and the game of the year:

Ring that their quarter back soon may be sacked,
Ring that you might get your credit card back.
Ring for America, it’s good to be free,
Even if the score is twenty to three:

It’s half time and outcome the hot dogs and wings,
Burgers and salads and onion rings.
But a bell rings much better it seems to me,
For all the newest commercials you’ll see:

The girls with their pom-poms and the half-time band,
Ring for the flag that flies over the stands.
You want to ring the official’s fat neck,
Or at least meet the guy that signs his pay check:

But you ring for tradition and the American way,
And the time that forgot this wonderful day
When policeman and fireman, soldier and cook,
Cab drivers, priest, and the ones that make book:

Teachers and doctors, witches and pimps,
Athletes and artists, children and imps…
All join together for one single thing,
Like parts of a puzzle, the peace of one ring.

Now your house is a wreck, the toilet won’t flush,
The dog’s throwing up, must have drunk way too much:
Your credit’s maxed out, the car’s out of gas,
You fumble and falter and miss that big pass.

But you stood up and chimed in and did what you could,
To make the day fun, what you remember was good:
Just give God thanks for one single thing,
At six a.m. Monday when you hear that bell ring.

Posted with permission from the author.

[RonaKesselman]

From the booklet: "Nostalgia Bells" by: Lew Hays L.H.D
published: 1995

BELL COLLECTONS

Most start out small,
A bell you buy;
It grows and grows,
You know not why.

And suddenly
A shelf is full;
Like gravity,
It has a pull.

But fun it is
And friends you meet
Who've fallen, too...
Accept defeat.

It's dozens first,
Then hundreds, and,
As years go by,
Thousands on hand.

It's buy and sell
and swap a few,
Then specialize,
Know what you do.

Where e'er you are
Along the chain,
You'll not be free
Ever again.



Note: "Nostalgia Bells" by Lew Hays, L.H.D., was printed for Pittsburgh Chapter in honor of the chapter accepting the responsibility of hosting the annual convention that was held in Pittsburgh 1996.

[Carolyn Whitlock]

A bell said to its maker, Revere,
"I'm tired of hanging up here.
This tower is drafty,
The pigeons are crafty,
And I'm rung just a few times a year."

Written by Marie Varian (1998)