Friday, September 10, 2021

Poetry Friday: Sonnet 73

It seems like a day for a classic, a poem people have been reading for 400 years. 

 

TLDR: Yeah, everything and everyone you love will go away, but that's all the more reason to love well while you can. 

 

Love well today, poetry friends! And here's the roundup.


Sonnet 73

William Shakespeare

 

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

 

10 comments:

Linda Mitchell said...

A poem that's been read for 400 years...is in itself a wonderful thought. Thanks for the classic!

Linda B said...

There are many words written to tell us to live now for tomorrow is not so certain, aren't there? Shakespeare does it with a special beauty of the day shown before the lesson. Lovely, Ruth. Thank you!

Jone said...

Perfect poem. It seems to me that this is a poem for his son who died of the Bubonic Plague. Have you read HAMNET by Maggie O'Farrell. Highly reccomend.

Heidi Mordhorst said...

Thanks for the reminder, Ruth and Will. I love that one. Congrats on your bird achievements!!

Elisabeth said...

This classic reminds us that all humainty has struggled to reconcile their feelings about death and loss. Thanks for sharing this today.

Mary Lee said...

And as we remember the sudden loss of 9/11, it seems even more imperative to love EXTRAVAGANTLY because sometimes we don't get the luxury of the leaves turning and the ashes cooling. It all just...ends.

Catherine Flynn said...

Thank you for sharing this beauty, Ruth.

Susan T. said...

Beautiful, Ruth. It has been a while since I sat down with Shakespeare, and I read this one aloud. Those last two lines bring tears to my eyes.

Carol Varsalona said...

So lovely. Shakespeare was so gifted. Thanks, Ruth.

Karen Edmisten said...

Oh, yes, one of my absolute favorites.
"Bare ruined choirs" — it kills me every time.

Thanks for this, Ruth.