Sonnet 28
How can I then return in happy plight,
absence
insomnia
day and night
longing
How can I then return in happy plight,
That am debarr'd the benefit of rest?
When day's oppression is not eased by night,
But day by night, and night by day, oppress'd?
And each, though enemies to either's reign,
Do in consent shake hands to torture me;
The one by toil, the other to complain
How far I toil, still farther off from thee.
I tell the day, to please them thou art bright
And dost him grace when clouds do blot the heaven:
So flatter I the swart-complexion'd night,
When sparkling stars twire not thou gild'st the even.
But day doth daily draw my sorrows longer
And night doth nightly make grief's strength
seem stronger.
What It Means
Continuing from Sonnet 27, Shakespeare says he is doubly cursed: daytime offers no rest because he's apart from the young man, and nighttime offers no rest because he can't stop thinking about him. Day and night conspire against him. He tries to flatter both to gain their sympathy, but neither helps. His only comfort is the absurd compliment he pays to the night: even darkness is made pleasant by the thought of the young man's face.
Context
Part of the Fair Youth sequence, a direct continuation of Sonnet 27's sleeplessness theme.
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