"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."
- Robert Herrik
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."
- Robert Herrik
The first thought I had when I read this poem was "hashtag yolo". Then it skipped to "No wait, carpe diem." The poem means that because life and youth fades, we should live life to it's fullest. Because time goes by fast, the poet is telling us to take our time to embrace life and use the short time we have wisely.
I really like the second verse, where the poet compares the sun to the passing of a person's life. "The glorious lamp of heaven" just really does it for me. It's the perfect way to describe the sun, but also the perfect euphemism for the subject at hand. I believe that it represents the finests of people, who rise up high. After they rise up and succeed though, they are bound to fall. Maybe not fall terribly and sadly, but gracefully and meaningfully like the sunset. Even though the great people succeed, their time runs out too.
The last verse of the poem is basically an elongated and eloquent "carpe diem". It means that we ought not be wasters of our time in life, and that while we still have the ability to use our youth, we should live our lives.
I really like the second verse, where the poet compares the sun to the passing of a person's life. "The glorious lamp of heaven" just really does it for me. It's the perfect way to describe the sun, but also the perfect euphemism for the subject at hand. I believe that it represents the finests of people, who rise up high. After they rise up and succeed though, they are bound to fall. Maybe not fall terribly and sadly, but gracefully and meaningfully like the sunset. Even though the great people succeed, their time runs out too.
The last verse of the poem is basically an elongated and eloquent "carpe diem". It means that we ought not be wasters of our time in life, and that while we still have the ability to use our youth, we should live our lives.
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