The Bell

I hang by a thread
Wonderin' if you're dead
For I've heard the bell of the mine
Frozen inside
A motionless tide
I wait, I watch for the sign

Deep within
Earth's crooked skin
Fear springs as a vine
Tendrils of smoke
Dread thoughts evoke
And rise round my heart to entwine

Hey now little bird
Tell me what you've heard
Fly o'er the holler and the hill
Bring me the word
What has occurred
Where then and how fares my Bill?

Down in my soul
Black as the coal
Perilous toils reveal
Trembles a thought
Satan has wrought
With prayer I seek now to heal

I hang by a thread
Wonderin' if you're dead
For I've heard the bell of the mine

© 2006 Elisabeth Williamson
Through-the-Mist Music, ASCAP