The Rhyming and the Chiming of the Bells
Oh, from out the sounding cells,
What a gush of euphony voluminously wells!
How it swells!
How it dwells
On the Future!—how it tells
Of the rapture that impels
To the swinging and the ringing
Of the bells, bells, bells—
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells—
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!
—from “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe
One day during the first few weeks of college, I was sitting in the hallway talking on the phone, minding my own business when...
“BRRRRRRRRRINNNNNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!”
An earth-shattering, teeth-clenching, heart-stopping sound pierced the air! I screamed, jumped, and almost dropped the phone. I apologized to my friend and explained that I had only been startled by the bell in the hallway.
Now the bells usually aren’t THAT loud—unless you do as I unwittingly did and sit directly under the bell. (Lesson learned.) But there are quite a few bells every day, including a bell to start and end every class period, a bell to start and end chapel, and a bell to signal lights out. Aside from the hallway bells, there are the pealing bells of the Campanile, the large bell tower at the center of campus, which ring sixty-four times each day!
When I first arrived on campus, it was difficult for me to remember just why there was a bell going off and whether I was expected to do anything about it. But as I have adjusted to student life, I realized that the bells can be a valuable tool.
The Campanile was built to remind Pensacola Christian College students to “redeem the time” (Eph. 5:16). I have learned to appreciate the bells because of the punctual atmosphere that they promote in every area of student life. Though they still startle me sometimes, I’ve come to be thankful for “the rhyming and the chiming of the bells,” which remind me to live every moment for God.
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