Through the peace of balmy spring,
Bird-songs’ trills and breeze-tossed leaves,
An alien sound, a distant ring
Dares to break the mirth to grieve:
A distant, solitary bell
Tolling out a funeral knell.
Softly, softly first it sounds,
Tolling gravely, tolling sadly.
Tolling, tolling, it resounds,
Grows, repeating – dourly, madly.
Ringing, ringing, without end,
Like the realm its calls portend.
Swelling louder, louder still,
Drowning spring’s sweet nothings out.
Pealing, pealing, stubborn, shrill,
Echoing forth, back, throughout.
Silence! Silence! Ruthless bell,
Silence the grim truth you tell.
But my plea is cruelly spurned;
Now it takes its cruelest tone –
Laughing, laughing – mourning turned
Into mirth, its mirth alone.
Mocking, mocking bitterly,
Knowing I know what must be.
Adam Sedia (b. 1984) lives in his native Indiana, where he practices as a civil and appellate litigation attorney. His poems have appeared in print and online publications, and he has published two volumes of poetry: The Spring's Autumn (2013) and Inquietude (2016). He also composes music, which may be heard on his YouTube channel. He lives with his wife, Ivana, and their two children.