Poems (Kennedy)/The Call to Prayer
THE CALL TO PRAYER
(By direction of the rector, Dr. W. D. Buckner, the bell of Calvary Church is rung every day at 12 o'clock as a call to prayer for our soldiers.)
THE city teems with life; the sun, A golden globe swings highWhere breaks the noon, and in the streets Is jar of traffic passing by.Then suddenly above the throng A bell rings deep and clear,A drifting wave of melody That sweeps now far, now near.
"Lift up your hearts! Lift up your hearts!" (The spoken words seem there),"To Him who guards our battle front; Lift up your hearts in prayer.Pray hard that o'er our men who fight On Freedom's blood-stained fieldToday the Lord of Hosts may hold The shelter of His shield."
And on the crowded thoroughfares Men bow their heads a space,And every woman, at her task, Lifts up a reverent face. A hush for just one fleeting breath Falls where the toilers plodAs prayerful thoughts and whispered words Go winging up to God.
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The golden sun slips o'er the line, The high noon hour is past,The roar of traffic fills the wind, The sky is lone and vast.A thousand hearts are thrilled and stirred As silence settles where—Muezzin of the Christian tower— The bell has called to prayer.