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For human nature’s daily food;
For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles

And now I see with eye serene
The very pulse of the machine;
A Being breathing thoughtful breath,
A traveller between life and death;
The reason firm, the temperate will,
Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;
A perfect Woman, nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a Spirit still, and bright
With something of angelic light.

***

The Twins

By James Stephe

Good and bad are in my heart,
But I cannot tell you
(For they never are apart)
Which is stronger of the two.

I am this, I am the other,
And the devil is my brother.
But my father He is God,
And my mother is the sod;

Therefore, I am safe, you see,
Owing to my pedigree.
So I shelter love and hate
Like twin brothers in a nest,
Lest I find when it’s too late
That the other was the best.

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