To the virgins, to make much of time

Robert Herrick

Gather ye 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
  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 for ever tarry.

Fonte (v. 1-4): Carpeaux, OM. 2011. História da literatura ocidental, vol. 2, 4ª ed. Brasília, Senado Federal. Poema publicado em livro em 1648.