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Egaeus<br />
Jaclyn Myers<br />
Thy soul shall find itself alone<br />
‘Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone;<br />
Not one, of all the crowd, to pry<br />
Into thine hour of secrecy.<br />
--Spirits of the Dead (Edgar Allan Poe)<br />
Cousin Egaeus,<br />
Perhaps you find it strange to see these pages written in my hand. Indeed,<br />
I am sure until this moment you were not entirely convinced that I knew the<br />
alphabet from one end to the other. I do not blame you- the mud stains in the sitting<br />
room and the crack in the library window attest to my childhood carelessness.<br />
In some ways I suppose I have little changed, but this one decision, which I resolved<br />
upon this very hour, should redeem my reckless heart, at least in your noble mind.<br />
To help you understand this choice, this single greatest sorrow and pride of my life,<br />
please give my words a small portion of the attention you lavish on your books, and<br />
we will both be satisfied.<br />
When we were children, I watched you run blindly through the library<br />
to escape the slightest footfall, stirring up dust as you dove behind bookshelves<br />
and under desks. I imagined you were playing with ghosts and fighting spectral<br />
enemies, a thought which filled me with fascination and great respect<br />
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