Sonnet 49

Against that time, if ever that time come,

When I shall see thee frown on my defects,

Whenas thy love hath cast his utmost sum,

Call’d to that audit by advised respects;

Against that time when thou shalt strangely pass,

And scarcely greet me with that sun thine eye,

When love, converted from the thing it was,

Shall reasons find of settled gravity;

Against that time do I ensconce me here

Within the knowledge of mine own desert,

And this my hand against myself uprear

To guard the lawful reasons on thy part.

To leave poor me thou hast the strength of laws,

Since why to love I can allege no cause.

Against that time, if the day should come, when at last

You grow weary of my defects,

And, disappointed, understandably you cast

Out the last love you have, and pay your last respects—

Against that time, when you’ll depart like a stranger,

Knowingly, from me,

And the love that once you thought would linger

Succumbs to a force of more gravity—

Against that time, in advance of it, I foreclose

Myself now, knowing the loneliness I deserve.

I swear against myself to uphold the case

That I should lose, which you could easily prove.

You’ll have the strength of all arguments.

Your love flies in the face of the evidence.