Thomas Humphry Ward, ed. The English Poets. 1880–1918.rnVol. II. The Seventeenth Century: Ben Jonson to Dryden
Robert Herrick (15911674)To Blossoms
F
Why do ye fall so fast?
Your date is not so past,
But you may stay yet here a-while,
To blush and gently smile;
And go at last.
An hour or half’s delight;
And so to bid good-night?
’Twas pity Nature brought ye forth,
Merely to show your worth,
And lose you quite.
May read how soon things have
Their end, though ne’er so brave:
And after they have shown their pride,
Like you, a-while,—they glide
Into the grave.