Explore "The Bell Buoy" by Rudyard Kipling on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
They christened my brother of old -- / And a saintly name he bears -- / They gave him his place to hold / At the head of the belfry-stairs, / Where the minster-towers stand / And the breeding kestrels cry. / Would I change with my brother a league inland? / (_Shoal! 'Ware shoal! _) Not I!
In the flush of the hot June prime, / O'er smooth flood-tides afire, / I hear him hurry the chime / To the bidding of checked Desire; / Till the sweated ringers tire / And the wild bob-majors die. / Could I wait for my turn in the godly choir? / (_Shoal! 'Ware shoal! _) Not I!