Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May
Poem
To the Virgins, to make much of Time
Gather ye rosebuds 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
Read by François Holmey
Music
Samhradh / Aniar Aduaidh / The Donegal Jig
Altan
Image
The Artist's Garden in Argenteuil (A Corner of the Garden with Dahlias), Claude Monet
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington