TO THE VIRGINS, TO MAKE MUCH OF TIME. by Robert Herrick

GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,

    Old time is still a-flying :

And this same flower that smiles to-day

    To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,

    The higher he's a-getting,

The sooner will his race be run,

    And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,

    When youth and blood are warmer ;

But being spent, the worse, and worst

    Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,

    And while ye may go marry :

For having lost but once your prime

    You may for ever tarry.