Church bells in the distance have a deep-in-the-country overtone and a village charm, sometimes forgotten in the worldly hammering coming in from all sides, and rising up too often, from within.

Coming closer and closer, there is an overwhelming immediacy to the bells, crowding out, to the point of distraction, those things I thought had to be attended to right away.

At the church door the bells have the power of thunder, compelling without release, a demand that must be answered, and then they are finished. Noon.