The Lame Brother

Charles Lamb 1775 (Inner Temple, London) – 1834 (Edmonton, London)



My parents sleep both in one grave;
My only friend's a brother.
The dearest things upon the earth
We are to one another.

A fine stout boy I knew him once,
With active form and limb;
Whene'er he leaped, or jumped, or ran,
O I was proud of him!

He leaped too far, he got a hurt,
He now does limping go.-
When I think on his active days,
My heart is full of woe.

He leans on me, when we to school
Do every morning walk;
I cheer him on his weary way,
He loves to hear my talk:

The theme of which is mostly this,
What things he once could do.
He listens pleased-then sadly says,
'Sister, I lean on you.'

Then I reply, 'Indeed you're not
Scarce any weight at all.-
And let us now still younger years
To memory recall.

'Led by your little elder hand,
I learned to walk alone;
Careful you used to be of me,
My little brother John.

'How often, when my young feet tired,
You've carried me a mile!-
And still together we can sit,
And rest a little while.

'For our kind master never minds,
If we're the very last;
He bids us never tire ourselves
With walking on too fast.'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:06 min read
115

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBXB XCXC XDXD XEXE XFXF XXXX XGXG XHXH
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,033
Words 218
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Charles Lamb

Charles Lamb was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his Essays of Elia and for the children's book Tales from Shakespeare, co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764–1847). Friends with such literary luminaries as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth, and William Hazlitt, Lamb was at the centre of a major literary circle in England. He has been referred to by E. V. Lucas, his principal biographer, as "the most lovable figure in English literature". more…

All Charles Lamb poems | Charles Lamb Books

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