Page 4 - Reflectoem Magazine Issue 06

Bells

Nina Serrano

New York

As a child I used to tell time
by the bells ringing from the church

three blocks away
“Hurry get to school they rang” in the early morning
But in the tumult of everyone in the apartment
getting ready for work and school
I didn't usually hear them
I really only really listened for them
when I stayed home from school
by falsely insisting that I didn't feel well
My parents were at work
The house was quiet and lonely
at 3 o'clock when school let out
I heard the vibrating song
and again with a variation at 3:15
Now I was totally free
to stop pretending to be sick
I could prepare for wellness
and my parents' return with the hope of hugs and
dinner

and to listen for the chiming chiming chiming
of the evening bells