William Shakespeare
1564-1616
Sonnet LXX
That thou
art blam'd shall not be thy defect,
For slander's mark
was ever yet the fair;
The ornament of beauty
is suspect,
A crow that flies
in heaven's sweetest air.
So thou be good, slander
doth but approve
Thy worth the greater
being woo'd of time;
For canker vice the
sweetest buds doth love,
And thou present'st
a pure unstained prime.
Thou hast passed by
the ambush of young days
Either not assail'd,
or victor being charg'd;
Yet this thy praise
cannot be so thy praise,
To tie up envy, evermore
enlarg'd,
If some suspect of ill mask'd not thy show,
Then thou alone kingdoms of hearts shouldst owe.
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