Gather ye rosebuds while ye may

Cultural  

1. The first line of the poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” from the middle of the seventeenth century, by the English poet Robert Herrick. He is advising people to take advantage of life while they are young:

   Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

   Old Time is still a-flying;

   And this same flower that smiles today

   Tomorrow will be dying.

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Example Sentences

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying: And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.

From Time Magazine Archive

Numerous observers opined that Princess Mary had displayed a notable lack of critical flair in choosing a 17th Century garden tableau, subtitled in hackneyed fashion, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may."

From Time Magazine Archive

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.

From English Literature for Boys and Girls by Marshall, H. E. (Henrietta Elizabeth)

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.

From Familiar Quotations by Bartlett, John

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.

From The Home Book of Verse — Volume 1 by Stevenson, Burton Egbert