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The Sisters - A Picture By Barry

By John Greenleaf Whittier

Topics: classic

The shade for me, but over thee     The lingering sunshine still;     As, smiling, to the silent stream     Comes down the singing rill.     So come to me, my little one,     My years with thee I share,     And mingle with a sister's love     A mother's tender care.     But keep the smile upon thy lip,     The trust upon thy brow;     Since for the dear one God hath called     We have an angel now.     Our mother from the fields of heaven     Shall still her ear incline;     Nor need we fear her human love     Is less for love divine.     The songs are sweet they sing beneath     The trees of life so fair,     But sweetest of the songs of heaven     Shall be her children's prayer.     Then, darling, rest upon my breast,     And teach my heart to lean     With thy sweet trust upon the arm     Which folds us both unseen

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"The shade for me, but over thee..."

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Author:John Greenleaf Whittier

"The shade for me, but over thee..." by John Greenleaf Whittier

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

John Greenleaf Whittier

About John Greenleaf Whittier

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892) was an American Quaker poet and abolitionist whose poems—including "Snow-Bound" and "Barbara Frietchie"—celebrate New England life and moral courage. He was one of the Fireside Poets and a leading voice against slavery.

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"Gallery of sacred pictures manifold,     A minster..."

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