Sonnet XVI, by
William Shakespeare
But wherefore do not you a mightier way
Make war upon this
bloody tyrant,
time,
And fortify yourself in your decay
With means more blessed than my barren rhyme?
Now stand you on the top of happy hours,
With many maiden gardens yet unset
With
virtuous wish would bear your living flowers,
Much liker than your painted counterfeit.
So should the lines of life that life repair
Which this time's pencil or my pupil pen
Neither in
inward worth nor outward fair
Can make you live yourself in eyes of men.
To
give away yourself keeps yourself still,
And you must live drawn by your own sweet skill.
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