memorial weekend bellsound

Just north of Arlington National Cemetery,
across the Potomac from our nation’s capitol,
is a 127-foot-high bell tower.
Called the “Netherlands Carillon,”
the bells were donated by the Dutch people
in gratitude for the aid given them
by the citizens of the United States,
during and after World War II.
The first 49 bells were donated in 1954,
and the 50th was recently added,
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.

We ring our single bell, this morning,
to celebrate the liberation of the human spirit.
From our fears and worries, from our sorrow and our rage,
may the sound of this bell center us
in the abiding love
which is the animating principle of all of us…