Page:Poems Freston.djvu/21

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That shadowed our hearthstone many a time,
Since fifty years ago.

But there never was yet a cloud so dark
But some sunlight sifted through,
For you had ever my faithful love
And I ever the thought of you.
So hand clasped in hand we bravely met
And battled with every woe,—
With the strength that is known to united hearts,—
Since fifty years ago.

The years rolled on, with their sunshine and shade,
And your laugh was not quite so gay,
And the sun-kissed tresses began to fade,
As your youth was slipping away.
The blue of your eyes has dimmed, dear wife,
And age gave his crown of snow,
But you're fairer and dearer to me to-day
Than fifty years ago.

We have wandered many a weary mile
And oft were our eyelids wet,
But in spite of the sorrows that checked our smile
We never once knew regret;