Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!
~Edgar Allan Poe
Rang by bfick
Edgar Allan Poe might have been a pretty dark guy, but apparently he had positive feelings about wedding bells and sleigh bells.
In the first stanza of The Bells, Poe extolls the merriment of sleigh bells:
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells...
The whole work really swings in a bell-like fashion. We have another bell poem today, one named in honor of Poe's. Thank you, Sarah, for giving me permission to share this!
Tintinnabulation
by Sarah Hina
We had bells in our mouths
back then
we did
and every word
was a clang to the ribs
and every conversation
with you
a wedding
Where the brides
wore laughter
and the grooms
were clappers
and every guest
inside a mile
smiled
Because bells
are contagious
And so were we
***********
Kathryn Apel has the Poetry Friday round-up this week. Thanks, Kat!
10 comments:
Oh. What unexpected lines. They are a delight! (Especially, 'every word was a clang to the ribs'.) Thank-you for sharing Sarah's poem with us.
Love the idea of "inside a mile smiled" and the joyous rhythm!
First of all, thank you Tabatha for righting my upside down brain by highlighting Poe's and Sarah's poems. I visited Tintern Abbey in Wales this summer and insisted a poem about Tintern Abbey by Wordsworth included the word "tintinabulation." But I could not find it! Now I know the source. I love Sarah's internal rhyme -did and ribs, laughter and clappers, inside, mile, smile. Delightful!
This poem is lovely....the brides wore laughter and the grooms were clappers. LOVE
The Bells has always been one of my favorites, and now I have Sarah's to enjoy with it. I love the thought of bells being contagious.
I appreciated seeing a different side of Poe, as I'm still scarred by some of my Poe reading experiences! I love Sarah's poem and especially the line Linda highlighted: "the brides wore laughter and the grooms were clappers." Thanks for sharing!
Both bell poems bring such joy, Tabatha. I love them both. Thank you for sharing.
Love!
Thank you so much for sharing my poem, Tabatha. It's a delight to see such lovely comments, too.
"The grooms were clappers" -- an image I can see and here. I agree that the happiness of weddings are contagious. Maybe that's why it's considered lucky to see a bride!
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