Sonnet 27
Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
absence
insomnia
longing
travel
Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head,
To work my mind, when body's work's expired:
For then my thoughts, from far where I abide,
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
Looking on darkness which the blind do see
Save that my soul's imaginary sight
Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,
Makes black night beauteous and her old face new.
Lo! thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind,
For thee and for myself no quiet find.
What It Means
Shakespeare has been on a journey and is exhausted. He lies down to sleep, but his mind won't rest — it goes on a new journey, traveling to the young man in his thoughts. He can't see the young man — the room is dark — but the thought of him creates a 'shadow's form' that keeps Shakespeare awake. Sleep is supposed to rest the body; here the mind works without it.
Context
Part of the Fair Youth sequence. Sonnets 27 and 28 work as a pair — both about the inability to sleep when separated from the beloved.
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