Poem-a-day, April 23: sweet thief

35

No more be grieved at that which thou hast done:
Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud,
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,
And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud.
All men make faults, and even I in this,
Authorizing thy trespass with compare,
Myself corrupting, salving thy amiss,
Excusing thy sins more than thy sins are;
For to thy sensual fault I bring in sense—
Thy adverse party is thy advocate—
And 'gainst myself a lawful plea commence.
Such civil war is in my love and hate
     That I an accessory needs must be
     To that sweet thief which sourly robs from me.

***

Happy birth, and death, William Shakespeare.
April 23, 1564 - April 23, 1616 (approximate and up for debate)


Poems by William Shakespeare were also featured for Poem-a-Day April 23, 2007; Poem-a-Day April 23, 2009; and Poem-a-Day April 23, 2011.

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