To the Virgins,
to Make Much of Time

BY ROBERT HERRICK

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.

The End

About this poem

This poem, written in 1648, warns that life is short–make the most of it. Actress Jayne Mansfield died on in a tragic car crash on June 29, 1967 when the car she was riding struck the rear of a semi truck on U.S. Route 90 east of New Orleans, Louisiana. Ten days before her death, she appeared on the Joey Bishop Show and read this Robert Herrick poem. Ironically, the poem is about early death and Jayne was only 34-years-old when she passed away. This would be her final television appearance.