Poetry 101

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 damask'd°, 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.

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°dun: dark

°damask'd: decorated

°belied: to lie

(for those who don't know)

By William Shakespeare