1 As fast as thou shalt wane so fast thou grow’st,
As quickly as you fade, so quickly you grow As you decline, at the same pace something grows— as you fade, you grow
2 In one of thine, from that which thou departest,
In one of your children, in what you leave behind, in your child, inheriting what you're losing, in your kid, what you lose
3 And that fresh blood which youngly thou bestow’st,
And that vital youth you gave when young, the vital youth you passed on, your youthful blood
4 Thou mayst call thine, when thou from youth convertest,
You can claim as yours when you've moved from youth. you get back when you become old— you get to keep it as you age
5 Herein lives wisdom, beauty, and increase,
In this lives wisdom, beauty, and growth, Here's where wisdom, beauty, and life continue— wisdom and beauty and growth
6 Without this folly, age, and cold decay,
Without it, folly, age, and decay. without it, just foolishness, age, and death. without it, just dying
7 If all were minded so, the times should cease,
If everyone refused procreation, time would stop, If nobody had kids, history would end, if nobody had kids time would stop
8 And threescore year would make the world away:
And sixty years would wipe the world away. and the world would be gone in sixty years. the world would end
Volta Shifts from describing the natural decline of age to revealing the solution: children ensure your gifts continue as you decline.
9 Let those whom nature hath not made for store,
Let those whom nature didn't make beautiful Let those nature didn't gift with beauty— let the ugly ones
10 Harsh, featureless, and rude, barrenly perish:
Harsh, featureless, and crude, die childless. the rough, plain, crude ones—let them die without heirs. die without kids
11 Look whom she best endowed, she gave thee more;
But those she blessed most—you received even more. But you—you got the best gifts of all from nature— you got the most gifts
12 Which bounteous gift thou shouldst in bounty cherish:
Which generous gift you should generously pass on. and you should honor that by giving to others. so honor it by sharing
13 She carved thee for her seal, and meant thereby,
Nature carved you as her seal—her mark of perfection— Nature made you as her masterpiece, her stamp, you're nature's mark seal: mark of authenticity, stamp
14 Thou shouldst print more, not let that copy die.
You should print more copies, not let that seal die. you should create more versions of that masterpiece. make more copies, don't let it die