WSU Tenor Line

Thy glass will show thee how thy beauties wear,
Thy dial how thy precious minutes waste;
The vacant leaves thy mind's imprint will bear,
And of this book, this learning mayst thou taste.
The wrinkles which thy glass will truly show
Of mouthed graves will give thee memory;
Thou by thy dial's shady stealth mayst know
Time's thievish progress to eternity.
Look what thy memory cannot contain,
Commit to these waste blanks, and thou shalt find
Those children nursed, deliver'd from thy brain,
To take a new acquaintance of thy mind.
These offices, so oft as thou wilt look,
Shall profit thee and much enrich thy book.

"All the sonnets bearing the climacteric numbers, which are multiples of seven or nine, show evidence of being placed purposively. They usually interrupt a set or sequence which has some unifying theme, as here, where the sequence runs from 76 to 86, apart from the interruptions of the climacteric numbers 77 and 81. The precise significance of the use of these numbers in the sonnets is unknown, although it is clear that the sonnets set at these crucial points were carefully chosen, and that their position is not the result of any accidental placing."

In other words, don't forget to write in your journal (or post to your blog).