A New Acquaintance of Thy Mind: Day 14

Others abide our question. Thou art free.

Thou art the all we seek; more skill is thine.

How may we praise thy name? The all of thee

We know is praise, in honour more divine.

No words could tell, save only thine alone,

Nor verse, unless the offspring of thy mind,

The height and depth of glory thou hast known;

And ne'er in course of years from thence declin'd.

Live on as thou hast livèd: never now,

Shalt thou, by passing hours to ill betray'd,

Lose, in the smallest part, the grace which thou

Now hast. Thy seasons' splendour cannot fade.

So long, thy stage may say, as Men can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sorry, Matthew Arnold... I could not resist. It was too strong a temptation.

I never imagined myself saying this, but thank God it is over. One thing these two weeks have taught me - it must have taken more than mortal skill to write 154 sonnets.

Ah, and happy birthday, Will!