Classic Poem

Brother , dear brother, thrice welcome to me
Is the glossy curl of thy dark brown hair,
I love it because it was part of thee,
And it tells me, I still thy affections share.

Brother, dear brother, many years have flown
Since together we chanted our vesper hymn;
But I think of thee oft as I muse alone,
And the silent stars of the night grow dim.

Is thy step as buoyant, thine eye as bright,
As when the green fields of our home we ranged,
And gathered fresh flowers by the young morn's light?
Or with time's rapid current art thou too changed?

And say is our father's sweet look the same?
And our mother's smile, is it still as gay?
The thoughts that cling 'round that hallowed name
Bring tears which I cannot wipe away.

Oh! watch o'er our brother, smoothe gently his brow,
And soothing and kind let thine accents be;
As he loved me once, he will love thee now.
But speak to him often — Oh! speak of me!

Brother, dear brother, though stronger ties
Are binding my heart to Columbia's shore
Than ever I felt 'neath old England's skies,
I shall never cease loving her more and more.