William Shakespeare. 1564–1616

Sonnet CXXIII.

“No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change”


NO, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change  
Thy pyramids built up with newer might  
To me are nothing novel, nothing strange;  
They are but dressings of a former sight.  
Our dates are brief, and therefore we admire    5
What thou dost foist upon us that is old;  
And rather make them born to our desire  
Than think that we before have heard them told.  
Thy registers and thee I both defy,  
Not wondering at the present nor the past,   10
For thy records and what we see doth lie,  
Made more or less by thy continual haste.  
  This I do vow, and this shall ever be;  
  I will be true, despite thy scythe and thee.