Shakespeare's Sonnet 39

O! how thy worth with manners may I sing,When thou art all the better part of me?What can mine own praise to mine own self bring?And what is’t but mine own when I praise thee?Even for this, let us divided live,And our dear love lose name of single one,That by this separation I may giveThat due to thee which thou deserv’st alone.O absence! what a torment wouldst thou prove,Were it not thy sour leisure gave sweet leave,To entertain the time with thoughts of love,Which time and thoughts so sweetly doth deceive,And that thou teachest how to make one twain,By praising him here who doth hence remain.

How can I praise your worth without seeming immodest, when you are everything that is best in me? What can I gain by praising myself? And what am I doing but praising myself when I praise you? For this reason alone, let us live apart, and let our dear love no longer be called a single thing. Through that separation, I can give you the credit that you alone deserve. Absence, what a torment you would be if your bitter stretches of free time did not give me the sweet chance to pass the hours thinking about love! Those thoughts pleasantly distract me from both time and thought. You also teach me how to make one person into two by praising, here, the one who remains far away.