"To the Virgins, to make much of Time" (Robert Herrick).

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.