William Shakespeare
1564-1616
Sonnet IV
Unthrifty
loveliness, why dost thou spend
Upon thy self thy
beauty's legacy?
Nature's bequest gives
nothing, but doth lend,
And being frank she
lends to those are free:
Then, beauteous niggard,
why dost thou abuse
The bounteous largess
given thee to give?
Profitless usurer,
why dost thou use
So great a sum of
sums, yet canst not live?
For having traffic
with thy self alone,
Thou of thy self thy
sweet self dost deceive:
Then how when nature
calls thee to be gone,
What acceptable audit
canst thou leave?
Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee,
Which, used, lives th' executor to be.
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