Shelter and succour such as common men <br />Afford the weaker partners of their fate, <br />Have I derived from thee—from thee, most great <br />And powerful genius! whose sublime control, <br />Still from thy grave governs each human soul, <br />That reads the wondrous records of thy pen. <br />From sordid sorrows thou hast set me free, <br />And turned from want's grim ways my tottering feet, <br />And to sad empty hours, given royally, <br />A labour, than all leisure far more sweet: <br />The daily bread, for which we humbly pray, <br />Thou gavest me as if I were thy child, <br />And still with converse noble, wise, and mild, <br />Charmed from despair my sinking soul away; <br />Shall I not bless the need, to which was given <br />Of all the angels in the host of heaven, <br />Thee, for my guardian, spirit strong and bland! <br />Lord of the speech of my dear native land!<br /><br />Frances Anne Kemble<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-shakespeare-iii/
