Ocular Bells

Ocular Bells, Festive Verses.

Poetry, once the preserve of ear
Now is parsed and appears
Neat on a page
So far from stage
Of Virgil or of Shakespeare.

Lines and stanzas
Deaf to ear
But crafted and craftily
It’s clear to art lovers
Far and near.

Let’s close our eyes
And listen to the crest that rises
Falling on ear
Reaching the heart
Touching the spirit.

Let’s listen, not read
With silence for commas
With space for the mind
To wander untethered
Untrammeled by lines.

The rhythm of verse
Should keep a beat with the heart
The sweetness of sound
Keep the senses apart.

Poems once spoken and decried
To families round the fireside
Not silently mouthed in towers
Mid academic bowers.

Bring back the sounds
And shield the pages
Guarding symbols;
For the ages

Hark, the spirit sings
It trings and rings Celestial bells, whispering things
That only spoken words can bring.