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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE CLOCK by HORTENSE KING FLEXNER

First Line: DIDACTIC IN ITS SAFE STONE TOWER
Last Line: THE HOUR IT DOES NOT TELL.
Subject(s): CLOCKS; TIME;

Didactic in its safe stone tower
The church bell rings the chime,
Divides the wide night hour by hour
And lays the rule to time.

The waves of air record the sound,
Most reverently and clear,
The stroke of bronze, though not profound
Comforts the listening ear.

But noting how the dark mists come
To swallow down the bell,
I see the stretch it does not plumb,
The hour it does not tell.



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