Sonnet 94 is one of Shakespeare's sonnets. It's in the form of an octave, which is a sequence of eight lines that typically end with the line "octavo iam diem". The title means "by the pacific ocean" and it's thought that this sonnet was written about a woman named Sylvia. There are several theories about who Sylvia may have been, but she most likely was just a beautiful name that Shakespeare liked to use as a symbol for love. In modern language, Once by the Pacific is a metaphor for forever. It comes from a song called "Forever Young" by Steve Winwood. The word "forever" here doesn't mean forever as in forever and ever or forever and ever amen, but rather it means until death do us part. So the whole thing is saying that even though Sylvia will be young forever in spirit, she will still be beautiful forever because beauty fades only when you die. Shakespeare used poetry instead of prose to express his ideas because poetry has a different way of expressing itself that allows for greater nuance and depth.