Before the bells ring, before this little point in time
has rushed us on
Before this clean moment has gone, before this night
turns to face tomorrow, Father
There is this high singing in the air
Forever this sorrowful human face in eternity’s window
And there are other bells that we would ring, Father
Other bells that we would ring.
Martin Luther King, 1929-1968, American, web photo from a date unknown
spoke towards the end of his life about the suffering we create in war, in the untrammeled greed and blindness of our lives. He spoke aboutthe urgency of now.
Before he died, he saw how we could be, could change. He saw thePromised Land even if, he said, he knew he would not get there with us.
The poet knows about the bells of that land. He hears them. He takes it for granted that we do, too.