Black Bell

Black bell ringing from the hill, iron tongue against the wind. Dogs go quiet, windows shake, some old debt is coming in. You can laugh and call it thunder, you can swear the sky is clear, but when that bell starts rolling, every brave man learns to fear. Black bell ring it down, shake the bones beneath the town. Black bell let it roll, something's coming for the soul. No priest waiting at the chapel, no hand pulling on the rope. Still it swings above the valley, still it sounds below the smoke. Old men cross themselves in silence, young men dare it to come near. Then the dogs begin to scatter, and the bell is all you hear. Black bell ring it down, shake the bones beneath the town. Black bell let it roll, something's coming for the soul. One strike for the liar. Two for the thief. Three for the man who never believed. Then silence. Then four.