With its message of entreaty to a young man to marry and become a father,this sonnet could be read as a covert adore letter or the writer merely playing a roleSonnet XIII
O! that you were your self; but, adore, and you are
No longer yours,than you your self here live:
Against this coming cessation you should prepare,
And your sweet semblance to some other give:
So should that beauty which you hold in lease[br]Find no determination; then you were
Yourself again, and after yourself’s decease,
When your sweet issue your sweet form should bear.
Who lets so fair a house fall to decay,[br]Which husbandry in honour might uphold, or [br]Against the stormy gusts of winter’s day
And barren rage of death’s eternal cold?
O! none but unthrifts. Dear my adore,you know,
You had a father: let your son say so.
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Source: theguardian.com