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Sonnet 54
Shakespeare's Sonnets Translation Sonnet 55
Not marble nor the gilded monuments Of princes shall outlive this pow'rful rhyme, But you shall shine more bright in these conténts Than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time. When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword, nor war’s quick fire, shall burn The living record of your memory. 'Gainst death and all oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom. So till the judgment that yourself arise,You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
Neither marble nor the golden monuments
Of princes will outlive this powerful poem,
But you will shine brighter in its contents
Than unswept stone, made foul by dirty time.
When wasteful war topples statues,
And commotions root out the work of masons,
Neither Mars's sword or war's quick fire, will burn
The living record of your memory.
Against death and all the forces of forgetfulness
You will evade; your praise will still occupy
The eyes of all posterity
That will exhaust this world until the end of time.
So until the Last Judgement, when you rise as yourself,
You live in this poem, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
