Dec 2011
the July bells ringing at twelve today I hear,
lulling sirens throwing their soft voices,
with much foresight for that moment which arises with a need
to blare and scare the people from their sleep.
they hear these chimes and for them it celebrates –
the start of July where revival rings in, or
the time to align the hands on their clocks to twelve, or
the moment their paychecks come rolling in richly, or
merely a deviance from their rigid routines.
the July bells ringing at twelve today I hear,
and for me this celebrates –
the penning of poetry inspired by such bells.
lulling sirens throwing their soft voices,
with much foresight for that moment which arises with a need
to blare and scare the people from their sleep.
they hear these chimes and for them it celebrates –
the start of July where revival rings in, or
the time to align the hands on their clocks to twelve, or
the moment their paychecks come rolling in richly, or
merely a deviance from their rigid routines.
the July bells ringing at twelve today I hear,
and for me this celebrates –
the penning of poetry inspired by such bells.
It is on the first of every month that the Singapore Civil Defence Force sounds the siren to test out the Public Announcement system in Singapore. Before I knew the rationale behind the bells, I have had (and heard of) weird theories why the bells are played - and they are addressed in this poem.
