Lyric Poem · Nature

The Succession of the Four Sweet Months

by Robert Herrick

First, April, she with mellow showers

Opens the way for early flowers;

Then after her comes smiling May,

In a more rich and sweet array;

Next enters June, and brings us more

Gems than those two that went before;

Then, lastly, July comes, and she

More wealth brings in than all those three.

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“The Succession of the Four Sweet Months” by Robert Herrick — quilloak.com/poems/the-succession-of-the-four-sweet-months

Quick facts

Poem: The Succession of the Four Sweet Months
Poet: Robert Herrick
Length: 8 lines
Form: Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes: Nature, Summer, Spring, Short

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 8 lines · one 8-line stanza
End rhyme: AABBCCDD.
Line length: Mostly 8-syllable lines (tetrameter length).

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Robert Herrick1591–1674
Source record: PoetryDBThe Succession of the Four Sweet Months by robert-herrick, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 91a818d9a1d8299e…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Short Poems Nature Summer Spring Short

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