Sonnet XII: "When I do count the clock that tells the time" by William Shakespeare : The Poetry Foundation [poem] : Find Poems and Poets. Discover Poetry.

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Sonnet XII: "When I do count the clock that tells the time"

by William Shakespeare

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 ensilvered 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.

William Shakespeare

Actor, dramatist, and poet, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is the most highly regarded writer in . . . MORE »

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