Soror Tua

For the statue of Lorenzetti, in the Venice Exhibition, 1887, representing a chained and recumbent figure larger than life; who, if she broke the silence of her misery, might speak thus:-- Ye that pass by, come near and look on me; I am despised, rejected and out-thrust; My garments are acquainted with the dust, My soul is bosom-mate of misery. Come near and look upon me, sons of men. Would I were dead; yea, peace is with the dead, The dead are happy, having no desire. I rise and fall, and rise and fall again, Something is in me, famishing for bread, Baffled and unappeasable as fire. Woe, woe is me, I tire and may not tire! Eternal strength in weariness is mine. Raise me, I call. Come nearer, I am thine. What? Knowest thou not thy sister? I am she.