I chose this poem because I have a love for children, especially children who may not feel loved and appreciated. Also, those who feel lonely at times.

Recess

BY MARIA HUMMEL

This is the sound of the bell. It rings,
full of brass and the end it brings
once for the children, once for the child
who sits alone. His eyes hurt and mild,
he waits, holding his things.

Time should hold no meaning
for him yet. You don’t learn
how to play; you forget. But he knows a while
well, and longs for the clang of the bell.

A bell is a room of nothing.
No, a dome with a hidden swing — 
a will, a sway, a tone, a peal,
the beginning of song. The wild
crowd nears, passes, laughing.
Here is the sound of the bell.

I want to begin by discussing the structure of this poem. It is a narrated poem and the language structure uses metaphors. The bell ringing is being used as a symbol of pain for one child and an escape for others. It describes the feelings of a lonely child not looking forward to this sound. The bell is a time for play. To me this where a particular child is feeling lost and left out. While the other children cant wait for the sound of the bell, to them its freedom, laughter, and fun. To this one child it means an empty space with no one to play with. When it states “time should have no meaning, you don’t learn to play, you forget,” to me this means children should be carefree and have no worries about what the day holds ahead. But, instead he dreads the time of feeling alone. He has forgotten the feeling of fun and friends and feels isolated. When the narrator says, “he longs for the cling of the bell” this child is wanting to feel accepted again; to be with others like him, to laugh again, to play. To not feel alone anymore. The narrator wants the reader to feel sadness, and to possibly connect with the child in this poem. I feel like it could also be to raise awareness that there are many children who may feel this way, and we should all pay attention.