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 forever tarry.
Robert Herrick
