Robert Herrick: TO ANTHEA, WHO MAY COMMAND HIM ANYTHING

 Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

To Anthea, who may command him Anything              

BID me to live, and I will live
   Thy Protestant to be;
Or bid me love, and I will give
   A loving heart to thee.

A heart as soft, a heart as kind,
   A heart as sound and free
As in the whole world thou canst find,
   That heart I'll give to thee.

Bid that heart stay, and it will stay
   To honour thy decree:
Or bid it languish quite away,
   And 't shall do so for thee.

Bid me to weep, and I will weep
   While I have eyes to see:
And, having none, yet will I keep
   A heart to weep for thee.

Bid me despair, and I'll despair
   Under that cypress-tree:
Or bid me die, and I will dare
   E'en death to die for thee.

Thou art my life, my love my heart,
   The very eyes of me:
And hast command of every part
   To live and die for thee.

Use the search box in the blog header

to search the site for authors, poems, or single words.

Robert Herrick: TO THE VIRGINS, TO MAKE MUCH OF TIME

Robert Herrick (1591 – 1674)

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 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.

Use the search box in the blog header

to search the site for poets, poems, or single words.