Sonnets 61 – 90

Sonnet 64

When I have seen by Time’s fell hand defaced
The rich proud cost of outworn buried age;
When sometime lofty towers I see down-razed,
And brass eternal slave to mortal rage;
When I have seen the hungry ocean gain
Advantage on the kingdom of the shore,
And the firm soil win of the watery main,
Increasing store with loss, and loss with store;
When I have seen such interchange of state,
Or state itself confounded to decay;
Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate
That Time will come and take my love away.
This thought is as a death which cannot choose
But weep to have that which it fears to lose.

Maye Abdulganiyeva (Maye Safet) was born in Crimea in 1972. She writes and translates into Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian and Russian languages. Was a co-author of several works, and also wrote own book of poems “Ешиль Кяинат” (“Green Universe”) / 2013 /. The winner, finalist and the member of the jury (in 2020) of the competition «Qırım inciri» («Crimean Figs»). She worked on the theme of structural features of the composition of Crimean Tatar fairy tales. Her artistic and scientific works were published in the magazine «Йылдыз» («Star») and the newspapers “Къырым” (“Crimea”), “Янъы дюнья” (“New World”), “Avdet” (“Return”), on the Internet. Author of lyrics of Crimean Tatar songs.

Maye Safet, performer and translator.

Sonnet 73

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see’st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed, whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourish’d by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.

I’m Dodo and I’m 26 years old. I’m living in the capital city of Georgia -Tbilisi. My sister and I run a small business of handmade jewelry: BUERA. I love flowers, ice-cream and dancing. I have no idea how to write bios and hate academic and formal world  ☺

Shakespeare was pretty cool, playing with words, characters and human feelings. I am more of a prose reader but for me poetry is like music: good ones make you want to live=play or die=destroy, there is no in the middle!

Dodo Bakuradze, performer.

Sonnet 87

Farewell! thou art too dear for my possessing,
And like enough thou know’st thy estimate,
The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing;
My bonds in thee are all determinate.
For how do I hold thee but by thy granting?
And for that riches where is my deserving?
The cause of this fair gift in me is wanting,
And so my patent back again is swerving.
Thy self thou gavest, thy own worth then not knowing,
Or me to whom thou gav’st it else mistaking;
So thy great gift, upon misprision growing,
Comes home again, on better judgement making.
Thus have I had thee, as a dream doth flatter,
In sleep a king, but waking no such matter.

Gudmundur Thorvaldsson is an Icelandic actor, director, musician. Internationally he is probably best known for his role as Sigurd Styrbjörnsson in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Remus in The Witcher and Lárus in Gåsmamman. But Gudmundur also has an extensive record in Icelandic films, TV and theatre over the past 25 years.

Gudmundur Ingi Thorvaldsson, performer and translator.