Robert Herrick

33. To the Virgins, to make much of Time.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

34. To Anthea, who may command him anything.

1. Bid me to live, and I will live
Thy Protestant to be:
Or bid me love, and I will give
A loving heart to thee.

2. A heart as soft, a heart as kind,
A heart as sound and free,
As in the whole world thou canst find,
That heart I’ll give to thee.

3. Bid that heart stay, and it will stay,
To honour thy decree:
Or bid it languish quite away,
And’t shall do so for thee.

4. Bid me to weep, and I will weep,
While I have eyes to see:
And having none, yet I will keep
A heart to weep for thee.

5. Bid me despair, and I’ll despair,
Under that cypress tree:
Or bid me die, and I will dare
E’en death, to die for thee.

6. Thou art my life, my love, my heart,
The very eyes of me:
And hast command of every part,
To live and die for thee.

Grosart’s Text.