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Sonnet 139: O, call not me to justify the wrong
William Shakespeare 1564 (Stratford-upon-Avon) – 1616 (Stratford-upon-Avon)
O, call not me to justify the wrong
That thy unkindness lays upon my heart
Wound me not with thine eye but with thy tongue;
Use power with power, and slay me not by art.
Tell me thou lov'st elsewhere, but in my sight,
Dear heart forbear to glance thine eye aside;
What need'st thou wound with cunning when thy might
Is more than my o'erpressed defence can bide?
Let me excuse thee: "Ah, my love well knows,
Her pretty looks have been mine enemies,
And therefore from my face she turns my foes,
That they elsewhere might dart their injuries."
Yet do not so; but since I am near slain,
Kill me outright with looks and rid my pain.
Translation
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Citation
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"Sonnet 139: O, call not me to justify the wrong" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2021. Web. 20 Jan. 2021. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/41438/sonnet-139:-o,-call-not-me-to-justify-the-wrong>.