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Sonnet 2
Shakespeare's Sonnets Translation Sonnet 3
Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest, Now is the time that face should form another, Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest, Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother. For where is she so fair whose uneared womb Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry? Or who is he so fond will be the tomb Of his self-love, to stop posterity? Thou art thy mother’s glass, and she in thee Calls back the lovely April of her prime; So thou through windows of thine age shalt see, Despite of wrinkles, this thy golden time. But if thou live remembered not to be, Die single and thine image dies with thee.
Look in the mirror and tell the face that you see in it,
That now is the time that your face show make another,
If you do not renew your beauty by passing it on,
You cheat the world, and unbless some mother.
There is no woman whose unused womb
Would refuse your husbandry of her?
And who is so foolish that he will make a tomb
Out of his self-love, to stop himself having heirs.
You are the mirror image of your mother, and you
Recall the lovely spring-time of her youth.
Similarly, you will be able to see with your own eyes,
Despite your old age, this golden time of your youth.
But if you live as if you don't want to be remembered,
You die single and your image will die with you.
