| 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, | 5 |
| 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 ; | 10 |
| 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 | 15 |
| You may for ever tarry. | |