TO THE VIRGINS, TO MAKE MUCH OF THEIR TIME
Reading edition · Edition 2
Gather the 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 Time shall 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 for ever tarry.