Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Anne ReeveAldrich

1584 Fraternity

I ASK not how thy suffering came,

Or if by sin, or if by shame,

Or if by Fate’s capricious rulings:

To my large pity all’s the same.

Come close and lean against a heart

Eaten by pain and stung by smart;

It is enough if thou hast suffered,—

Brother or sister then thou art.

We will not speak of what we know,

Rehearse the pang, nor count the throe,

Nor ask what agony admitted

Thee to the Brotherhood of Woe.

But in our anguish-darkened land

Let us draw close, and clasp the hand;

Our whispered password holds assuagement,—

The solemn “Yea, I understand!”