This is a parody of a famous Shakespeare sonnet. My poem is on the left, Shakespeare's original is on the right
Drinkers' sonnet
Shall I compare thee to a brewer's dray?
Thou art more lovely than my whistle whet:
Rough heads do keep the drinking jugs at bay,
And opening hours have all too short a let:
Sometimes too warm the pint of lager pours
And often is his gold complexion spilled;
And every beer from fair sometimes detours,
By chance or changing barrels not yet stilled;
But thy eternal spritzer shall not fade
Nor recollection of that round thou owest;
Nor will I mock thou drink'st lemonade
When on allotment vines the grapes thou growest:
So long as men can drink and eyes still see,
So bottoms up and best of health to thee!Shall I Compare Thee... (sonnet 18)
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
Copyright Bare Nibs 2004