Timberland Bells

I used to hear them faintly Those evening bells for prayer, Across the fields of Tilney, Beyond the sunset's glare.

I heard them in my childhood, Those bells of Timberland, When I was always happy, Holding my father's hand.

Enchanted in the distance, They rode upon the air, Seeming to float from Heaven; I knew not how nor where.

All through life's dusty pathway, I heard those bells ring out, A chiming in the distance, That sung, my path about.

My father—how I miss him— Lies in the churchyard there, He takes my hand no longer He knows not how I fare.

But I would give up everything To hold again his hand, And hear across the meadows The bells of Timberland.