Henry Alford

Sonnet XLIII. The Malvern Hills, March 12, 1835.

Erewhile I saw ye faintly through far haze, Spread many miles above the fields of sea; Now ye rise glorious, and my steps are free To wander through your valleys' beaten ways, And climb above, threading the rocky maze; And trace this stream alive with shifting light, With whose successive eddies silver--bright Not without pleasant sound the moonbeam plays. My dear, dear bride--two days had made thee mine, Two days of waxing hope and waning fear, When under the night--planet's lavish shine We stood in joy, and blessed that rillet clear; Such joy unwarning comes and quickly parts, But lives deep--rooted in our ``heart of hearts. ''