William Shakespeare
1564-1616

Sonnet XXIX

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself, and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising,
Haply I think on thee,-- and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate,;
    For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
    That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
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This border is a reproduction of
Lorenzo Lotto's
(1480-1556)
Portrait of a Young Man
1508, oil on panel, Art History Museum, Vienna
Carol Gerten's Fine Art
http://metalab.unc.edu/cgfa/
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