Sonnet 189
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A MODERN PROSE TRANSLATION
My ship laden with forgetfulness passes through a harsh sea, at midnight, in winter, between Scylla and Charybdis, and at the tiller sits my lord, rather my enemy;
each oar is manned by a ready, cruel thought that seems to scorn the tempest and the end; a wet, changeless wind of sighs, hopes, and desires breaks the sail;
a rain of weeping, a mist of disdain wet and loosen the already weary ropes, made of error twisted up with ignorance.
My two usual sweet stars are hidden; dead among the waves are reason and skill; so that I begin to despair of the port.