That time of year thou mayst in me beholdI think the themes of the sonnet are afraid of aging and mortality. In the first quatrain, the yellow leaves represent the season of autumn. It also show the life clock for people. Autumn indicates the life is toward the end. "None" may mean no sign of life which means death. "Few" gives the sense of dying which means even though you are not die, but it is only about time. The "cold" wind is going to shake you down to the ground.
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
The second and third quatrains reinforce the idea of aging and dying. "twilight," "sunset," and "west" are all about dying. They are all very beautiful but only last for a short time. "Black night" and "rest" work as the symbol of death. The passion of youth is fading as the "glowing fire." The ashes will be very hot shortly but cold down rapidly as the quick time the young time will pass away.
The last couplet makes a turn from the issue of aging and death toward the love and relationship. Because of the shorten life people have, the love and relation they have become more treasure.
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