To A Modern Poet

WITH A COPY OF " SHAKSPEARE'S SONNETS. "

TAKE thou these words thine elder brother writ, —
Thou, to whom Song is as thy native speech!

Across the swift-flown centuries thou canst reach
To him, thy kinsman, reverent hands and sit —
While shadows of the Past about ye flit —
With him, " in sessions of sweet, silent thought, "
And share with him those halcyon days that brought
Music's sweet charm, and sparkle keen of wit.

So shalt thou learn the secret of his song, —
Those minor chords; since Life is as the leaf,
And gladdest love and brightest day are brief;
Those clear, bold notes that told his soul was strong,
Brave to endure, and swift to smite the wrong,
Until Death healed thine elder brother's grief.
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