To the Moon

O fair and gracious Moon! Well I remember
A year hath passed, since up this very hill
I came so full of anguish to behold thee:
And o'er yon forest thou didst shed thy beams,
As at this moment, filling it with light.
But veiled in mist, and tremulous with tears
That hung upon my lashes, to mine eyes
Thy radiance did appear, for dark with woe
Was then my life, and is, nor will it change,
O Moon, thou my adored! And yet I love
To bear in mind and one by one to count
The slow years of my sorrow. Oh, how sweet
It is to youth, when hope has yet a long,
And memory has but a brief, career,
To dwell in thought on things for ever past,
Though they be sad and though affliction live!