Ah, wherefore with infection should he live,
And with his presence grace impiety,
That sin by him advantage should achieve,
And lace it self with his society?
Why should false painting imitate his cheek,
And steal dead seeming of his living hue?
Why should poor beauty indirectly seek
Roses of shadow, since his rose is true?
Why should he live, now Nature bankrupt is,
Beggared of blood to blush through lively veins,
For she hath no exchequer now but his,
And proud of many, lives upon his gains?
O, him she stores, to show what wealth she had
In days long since, before these last so bad.
A couple of spelling mistakes here. My hard copy has 'itself', not 'it self' in line 4, and 'seeing', not 'seeming' in line 6. This last seriously affects the understanding of the poem, which is not easy anyway. Perhaps it's a poem that has gained in relevance, though, with the modern AIDS epidemic.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Awesome I like this poem, check mine out