The Bells Of San Blas

What say the Bells of San Blas     To the ships that southward pass         From the harbor of Mazatlan?     To them it is nothing more     Than the sound of surf on the shore,--         Nothing more to master or man.     But to me, a dreamer of dreams,     To whom what is and what seems         Are often one and the same,--     The Bells of San Blas to me     Have a strange, wild melody,         And are something more than a name.     For bells are the voice of the church;     They have tones that touch and search         The hearts of young and old;     One sound to all, yet each     Lends a meaning to their speech,         And the meaning is manifold.     They are a voice of the Past,     Of an age that is fading fast,         Of a power austere and grand,     When the flag of Spain unfurled     Its folds o'er this western world,         And the Priest was lord of the land.     The chapel that once looked down     On the little seaport town         Has crumbled into the dust;     And on oaken beams below     The bells swing to and fro,         And are green with mould and rust.     "Is, then, the old faith dead,"     They say, "and in its stead         Is some new faith proclaimed,     That we are forced to remain     Naked to sun and rain,         Unsheltered and ashamed?     "Once, in our tower aloof,     We rang over wall and roof         Our warnings and our complaints;     And round about us there     The white doves filled the air,         Like the white souls of the saints.     "The saints!    Ah, have they grown     Forgetful of their own?         Are they asleep, or dead,     That open to the sky     Their ruined Missions lie,         No longer tenanted?     "Oh, bring us back once more     The vanished days of yore,         When the world with faith was filled;     Bring back the fervid zeal,     The hearts of fire and steel,         The hands that believe and build.     "Then from our tower again     We will send over land and main         Our voices of command,     Like exiled kings who return     To their thrones, and the people learn         That the Priest is lord of the land!"     O Bells of San Blas in vain     Ye call back the Past again;         The Past is deaf to your prayer!     Out of the shadows of night     The world rolls into light;         It is daybreak everywhere.