Sonnet 106: When in the chronicle of wasted time

Portrait of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare 1564–1616
106The Sonnets

When in the chronicle of wasted time I see descriptions of the fairest wights, And beauty making beautiful old rhyme In praise of ladies dead, and lovely knights, Then, in the blazon of sweet beauty's best, Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow, I see their antique pen would have expressed Even such a beauty as you master now. So all their praises are but prophecies Of this our time, all you prefiguring; And, for they looked but with divining eyes, They had not skill enough your worth to sing. For we, which now behold these present days, Have eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise.

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