When I Was Something

When I was five and something
I heard silver tinkling bells
In a field of grass in a meadow
As I lay down to rest a spell.

When I was eight and something
And knelt in church to pray
I heard the same bells ringing
In the silence of the day,

When I was two and twenty
Again I heard this sound
Knowing not what it was
It came from all around.

When I was five and twenty
The bell sound grew more loud -
It was God calling me
From out the maddening crowd,

When I was six and thirty
God took me homeward bound.
Initiated on His path
Of light, and love, and sound.