Charles Henderson Poet Free verse

The Meaning of the Bell

It is five a.m. in Philly....I couldn’t sleep.
A trip to the bath room.
Then back to the hotel bed.
Then back up to write.

Awake forever, I had lain pondering
the Old Cracked Bell Down the Street,
and how it must be straining to ring again....
Hanging in its shrine...
hoards of passers through...
just to see, maybe touch and marvel at
the symbol of Freedom.

I was there maybe an hour
waiting on another tour.
Musing about the thoughts 
running through my head
and the sounds of So Many Children of Different Lands,
ethnic background and origin.
Were they all American?
I don’t know.
But, their shining faces and interest in the symbol
made me feel good again.

I went into a side room....a movie.
It was looped to run continuously, about every thirty minutes.
The room would hold two hundred people easily.  
Their were seven.
Was no one interested in the story of the bell?
I felt sad again.

Where were all the huddled masses yearning to be free?
Where was the curiosity of the birth of liberty?
Is this all just another side show,
feeding off of the past?
I thought to myself.......
All should be required 
	to watch the movie
		before viewing the bell.

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Kim M April 23, 2010 at 3:03 PM That's a good idea. Let's hope weekend visitors & deliberate vacationers take more time to learn the history; hoping, too, many "passers by" had already seen the movie (or in haste didn't see it was available -- Maybe too much credit, I afraid.) Nowadays, especially young people are in such a hurry, they just want to "cut to the chase," (to say "been there" and to move on to something else). It's sad more don't care to gain more than just the highlight of saying they saw the bell.

Poet Destroyer A April 23, 2010 at 8:09 AM I enjoyed as well what movie are you talking about this is very intresting, I my self love History..Love your poet name makes you a very intresting Poet..p.d.