What makes this person to me kin? What binds this sweet soul to me? Perhaps it is a link of blood, That part of her is in me. That from some generation past A common thread runs to us, And leaves within our hearts a song, That echoes truly in us. Or is it all those things that make Her different from another, A part of which I see in me, That bids me try to claim her? Perhaps it is the pains once shared In times of dire trouble, Or joys that came upon us both, and made the pleasure double. Or do the words that she now says That once I whispered to her, By making of ideas a chain, Truly of her make a sister? And if I find myself alike Saying words I first heard from her, Is this not another bond, That warms my feelings for her? I cannot say what makes her kin, For all is true of others, Except to say that deep inside, I know I’ll always love her.