The Angelus Bells

By Stephen McGuinness

 

The angelus bells

Of twin steeples

John’s Lane and Saint Catherine’s

Echo across Thomas Street.

Ringing one, then the other

Gently reminding us

Of the faith of our fathers

The hope of our mothers

Long since lost.

Each a lonely plea

For a declining audience.

A light, freezing rain

Begins to fall

The people pull tight

Hurry on their way and

As the peals die away

Exhale.

 

Once, in Sinai

At the edge

Of the desert

On the coral shores

Of the Red Sea

I heard a Muzzein

Call the people to prayer.

His song from the minaret

Insistent, powerful, compelling

Carried up the

Bullet straight road

Of Sharm el Sheik

Snaked around buildings

Through open windows

Enveloping everything.

 

 

Stephen McGuinness, 46, works as a chef in Dublin city, Ireland. His poems have been published online on Eat Sleep Write, Calliope Magazine and by Silverbirch Press in the “I am Waiting” series.