William Shakespeare
1564-1616

Sonnet XCVI

Some say thy fault is youth, some wantonness;
Some say thy grace is youth and gentle sport;
Both grace and faults are lov'd of more and less:
Thou mak'st faults graces that to thee resort.
As on the finger of a throned queen
The basest jewel will be well esteem'd,
So are those errors that in thee are seen
To truths translated, and for true things deem'd.
How many lambs might the stern wolf betray,
If like a lamb he could his looks translate!
How many gazers mightst thou lead away,
If thou wouldst use the strength of all thy state!
    But do not so; I love thee in such sort,
    As, thou being mine, mine is thy good report.
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This border is a reproduction of

Frans Hals'

(1580-1666) 
The Merry Drinker
1627, oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum at Amsterdam.
Carol Gerten's Fine Art http://metalab.unc.edu/cgfa/

Click here for the directory of my backgrounds based on art.