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:

I shall compare you not to a fleeting summer’s day, for you are lovelier still and your temperance unmatched. The gusts of wind that buffet the tender blossoms of May cannot touch your grace, nor does the brief span of summer’s reign confine your essence.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Even the sun, at times, burns too fiercely or hides its golden face behind clouds, yet your eternal summer will never wane, nor will you lose what is rightfully yours in beauty.

Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest 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.

Death shall not boast of leading you into its shadow, for through these enduring verses, you shall live on. As long as there are lungs to draw breath and eyes to behold, so long shall this poem endure, and in it, you shall live forever.

This version captures the elegance and depth of the original while weaving it with the refined tone characteristic of Liang Shiqiu’s translations. It reflects not just words but emotions and ideas that transcend language barriers.