The great bell
tolls midnight
stirring echoes:
emperors,
martyrs, prophets
in chains.
Above Rome’s
Seven Hills
life and death
still wrestle
in a match already
won.
The last toll
rolls like a tide
through Bernini’s
columns,
over the ramparts,
and disappears.
And for just
an instant I am
at the center
of all my selves,
before I set
out head-bowed,
stone by stone
across the piazza
with no one
in the world to tell.
Time is short, so I’ll be direct: FIRST THINGS needs you. And we need you by December 31 at 11:59 p.m., when the clock will strike zero. Give now at supportfirstthings.com.
First Things does not hesitate to call out what is bad. Today, there is much to call out. Yet our editors, authors, and readers like you share a greater purpose. And we are guided by a deeper, more enduring hope.
Your gift of $50, $100, or even $250 or more will bring this message of hope to many more people in the new year.
Make your gift now at supportfirstthings.com..
First Things needs you. I’m confident you’ll answer the call.
