The poem of the month is Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare. In this love poem, Shakespeare begins the sonnet with the question: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The speaker compares his lover to what he finds most beautiful: a summer’s day. As he begins to compare the two, he finds an issue. He states that despite being beautiful, summer has its imperfections. The winds are rough, the sun is sometimes too hot, and it frequently hides behind the clouds. The speaker then says how his lover is more lovely than a summer’s day. He calls her beauty an “eternal summer” and says that it will never fade, unlike the season of summer. In the final lines of the poem, the speaker concludes that his lover’s beauty will never dim. He writes that as long as humans are alive and have the ability to read, her beauty will exist forever in the words of the sonnet.

Sonnet 18 is a timeless love poem that is especially meaningful around the time of Valentine’s Day. During this time in February, we can read Sonnet 18 and reflect upon those who we value and love endlessly, whether they are a romantic partner, or even a best friend or a family member. During this Valentine’s Day season, be inspired to express words of love, gratitude, and/or adoration towards those you love with Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 in mind.