TO THE VIRGINS TO MAKE MUCH OF TIME
Reading edition
GATHER ye rose-buds 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 you may, go marry: For having lost but once your prime, You may forever tarry. Robert Herrick.