Poem by Robert Herrick

To a Gentlewoman, Objecting to Him His Gray Hairs

Am I despised, because you say;
And I dare swear, that I am gray?
Know, Lady, you have but your day!
And time will come when you shall wear
Such frost and snow upon your hair;
And when, though long, it comes to pass,
You question with your looking-glass,
And in that sincere crystal seek
But find no rose-bud in your cheek,
Nor any bed to give the shew
Where such a rare carnation grew:-
Ah!  then too late, close in your chamber keeping,
It will be told
That you are old,—
By those true tears you're weeping.

1. Upon Mrs Eliz. Wheeler, under the Name of Amarillis
2. The Lily in a Crystal
3. Upon Love: By Way of Question and Answer
4. Orpheus
5. How Springs Came First

Print

1679 Views

Last Poems

To Russian version