 | At the holy well |  |
21
AT THE GRAVES OF TWO BROTHERS.
DECORATION DAY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1886.
What mother having sons twin-born, both dear,Equally dear, both strong and masterful,
Both having tender nurture at her breast,
Who, after childhood, diverse-minded, then
By some hot feud are swayed and fall apart:
One leal to that strong bond of Home and Hearth,
One stung by some wild fire to strike at her
And wound her bosom; till lo, their strife grown fierce,
Both fall and both are slain by mutual blows:—
What mother, like to this one, shall not take
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Remembering only that they were her sons,
Both being dead, and both were good and brave,
And grieve for both and praise them in her grief?
O thou, our Mother, is not this one Thou?
Were not such twin-born these thy sons, thine own?
And over their two graves dost Thou not stand,
This fair last May morn, with memorial flowers
Full-handed, faithful to thy mother love,
Remembering only that they were thy sons,
Both being dead, and both were good and brave,
Grieving for both and praising in thy grief!
| At the holy well | |