Shakespeare Sonnet 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.

My favourite Shakespeare sonnet

This Be The Verse

They fuck you up, your mum and dad
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.


/ by Philip Larkin

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've got no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.


/by Jenny Joseph

A rhyme

Today I thought
I'd make a rhyme
on how I like to
spend my time.

I think my hobby's
rather neat
For best of all
I love to eat!

Yes, I like food
An awful lot,
At times I find
it hard to stop.

Chicken's nice,
when full of spice,
served with steamy,
fluffy rice.

Steak's a treat,
and ham is neat,
But what I like
the best is sweet!

I like junk food
of all kinds,
I stuff it down
in record times.

Cookies, candies
by the score;
licorice and
gum galore.

Give me
cupcakes anyday,
When I'm around
they'll never stay.

Ice cream's great
for any mood,
Syrup's good
on any food.

I'll struggle through
a large parfait,
Scrumpdillyicious
makes my day.

But, oh, alas,
I'm in a rut;
My mother is a
health food nut.


/Hugh Bowman


I think this rhyme describes me perfectly, don't you?