| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1584. Fraternity |
| | | By Anne Reeve Aldrich |
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| 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. | |
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| Come close and lean against a heart | 5 |
| Eaten by pain and stung by smart; | |
| It is enough if thou hast suffered,— | |
| Brother or sister then thou art. | |
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| We will not speak of what we know, | |
| Rehearse the pang, nor count the throe, | 10 |
| Nor ask what agony admitted | |
| Thee to the Brotherhood of Woe. | |
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| But in our anguish-darkened land | |
| Let us draw close, and clasp the hand; | |
| Our whispered password holds assuagement,— | 15 |
| The solemn “Yea, I understand!” | |
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