I shared last autumn a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar called “Sympathy”.  That happens to be a very meaningful compilation that has always held a special place in my mind and heart.  But most familiar with that work don’t realize he wrote another poem called “Sympathy” before the one I already posted.  Like its progeny, his original work by that name also has been and continues to be a wondrous creation that is in my list of favorite poetic writs.  So let me share the original “Sympathy” with you now.

The tear another’s tears bring forth,
    The sigh which answers sigh,
The pulse that beats at other’s woes,
    E’en though our own be nigh,

A balm to bathe the wounded heart
    Where sorrow’s hand hath lain,
The link divine from soul to soul
    That makes us one in pain,—

Sweet sympathy, benignant ray,
    Light of the soul doth shine;
In it is human nature giv’n
    A touch of the divine.