THE CRACKED BELL

Do you remember San Severo,
Do you remember the bell?
And the awful clangour
As they hit it with a hammer?
To save their souls from Hell.

Do you remember San Severo.
Do you remember the hell?
And the sympathetic pity
For the faces in the city?
The great church tower as well?

Do you recall the war-scarred hero
New from the bombing and the shell,
Who said, 'Smash the steeple,
Use the bricks to house the people,
And raise their souls from hell.'

Do you recall the war-scarred hero?
Do you remember the bell?
And the awful clangour
As they hit it with a hammer
To save their souls from Hell?


JMT 1944