Herrick, Robert. "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time"

 
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow 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

Robert Herrick

Robert Herrick (baptized August 24, 1591, London, England—died October 1674, Dean Prior, Devonshire) was an English cleric and poet, the most original of the “sons of Ben [Jonson],” who revived the spirit of the ancient classic lyric. He is best remembered for the line “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” and he is counted among the Cavalier poets.