Shakespeare: Sonnet 129
The expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and till action, lust
Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame,
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust;
Enjoyed no sooner but despisèd straight;
Past reason hunted; and no sooner had,
Past reason hated, as a swallowed bait,
On purpose laid to make the taker mad:
Mad in pursuit, and in possession so;
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe;
Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.
All this the world well knows; yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
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This poem stuck with me since high school - who knows why.
It's literally about lust but could be about any restless, addictive
behavior. It's when you get a jones for something you know you're better off
without. When you jump in the car at 3 A.M. to buy a pack of
cigarettes. When you drink that third cosmopolitan, knowing you'll
be sick as a dog in the morning. When one piece of fudge is too much
and the whole pan is not enough. You know that the wiggling worm is
attached to a hook, but you bite anyway. The perversity of human
nature.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this sonnet:
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