Suspended by a knuckle from a cedar beam Stranded in the center of an idle dream Forty seasons muffled in the upper flue Waiting on a signal that is overdue Tongue against the metal, keeping tension sweet Pacing out the distance from the busy street Not a whisper slipping past the heavy rim Watching all the tapers in the nave go dim Never tug the hemp twine, never trip the swing Dreading what the resonance is bound to bring Tucking every panic in a secret drawer Sliding like a whisper on the parquet floor Shake The Heavy Metal, Never Strike The Shell Living In The Shadow Of An Unrung Bell Keep The Hammer Level, Keep The Motion Sleek Swallow Every Sentence That You Ached To Speak Never Let It Ring, Never Let It Drop Spinning On The Pocket Till The Pulses Stop ...Tell Me How That Bronze Feels... Dust along the bevel, cobwebs on the lip Tallying the silence by a water drip Footsteps on the cobbles, banter in the square Nobody suspects what is hanging there Pledging to be prudent, promising to yield Polishing the rivets on an unused shield Perched above the traffic like a patient spy Gazing at the drizzle in a leaden sky Never tug the hemp twine, never trip the swing Dreading what the resonance is bound to bring Tucking every panic in a secret drawer Sliding like a whisper on the parquet floor Shake The Heavy Metal, Never Strike The Shell Living In The Shadow Of An Unrung Bell Keep The Hammer Level, Keep The Motion Sleek Swallow Every Sentence That You Ached To Speak Never Let It Ring, Never Let It Drop Spinning On The Pocket Till The Pulses Stop ...Tell Me How That Bronze Feels... Zero resonance. Zero reply. Just a heavy secret underneath the sky. Keep the clapper muffled in a silent wrap. Never let the timber or the metal snap. Pawned the whole transmission for an empty room. Swept the conversation with a scullery broom. Unstruck, untouched, hanging on the hook. Closed up tight like an unread book. Shake The Heavy Metal, Never Strike The Shell Living In The Shadow Of An Unrung Bell Keep The Hammer Level, Keep The Motion Sleek Swallow Every Sentence That You Ached To Speak Never Let It Ring, Never Let It Drop Spinning On The Pocket Till The Pulses Stop ...Tell Me How That Bronze Feels... Keep the clapper still... Never strike the shell... ...Tell me how that bronze feels... Slip the brass latch Trip the quiet catch Zero chime tonight.
