Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET: 12, by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE



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SONNET: 12, by         Recitation     Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: When I do count the clock that tells the time
Last Line: Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.
Variant Title(s): The Approach Of Age
Subject(s): Aging; Holidays; New Year; Time


When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silvered o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard;
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of 'time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,
And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence,
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.




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