Three days had we been wedded, when we stood
Within thy well known walls, (my bride and I)
Majestic Ludlow; from a cloudless sky
Fell the rich moon-beams, in a silver flood,
On tower and terrace, river, hill, and wood;
Then my heart wander'd to the years gone by,
But Hope and Love to Memory made reply
That those to come look'd doubly bright and good.
Since then the eleventh year hath well nigh past,
And, with our children, here we stand again;
Again a thankful glance doth memory cast
On years of gladness, not unmixt with pain.
Meanwhile our hearts are changed and changing fast,
But thou, fair ruin, dost unchanged remain.