| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | III. The Sister | | By Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale (1788–1879) |
| | The Empire of Woman—A Series of Sonnets
WILD as a colt, o’er prairies bounding free, | |
| The wakening spirit of the boy doth spring, | |
| Spurning the rein Authority would fling, | |
| And striving with his peers for mastery: | |
| But in the household gathering let him see | 5 |
| His sister’s gentle smile, and it will bring | |
| A change o’er all his nature; patiently, | |
| As cagéd bird that never used its wing, | |
| He turns him to the tasks that she doth share; | |
| His better passions kindle by her side; | 10 |
| Visions of angel beauty haunt the air: | |
| May she not summon such to be his guide? | |
| Our Saviour listened to a sister’s prayer, | |
| When “Lazarus, from the tomb come forth!” he cried. | | | | |
|
|
