The written word has passed away 

And songs now go unsung

Yet distant on a misty peak

O’er windswept plains and fields bleak

Though courage sleeps in hearts of meek

A lonely bell is rung

The brazen bell rings heartily 

To bearded brothers few

Who praying answer belfry’s call

And with one heart united all

Laugh in pain as worlds fall

The last whose souls are true

So gathered in one place to sing

Under the Tree of Rome

Amidst the storm and roaring sea

The last whose lives are full and free

The children with a destiny

The last to journey Home.

The written word has passed away 

And songs now go unsung

But yet the few and Faithful speak

While tears from silent heavens leak 

And courage sleeps in hearts of meek

And lonely bell is rung

---

This poem first appeared in 2021 in Heart unto Heart, published by FOCUS and LoveGood.