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Lyric Poem · Life

To his Girls

by Robert Herrick

Wanton wenches do not bring

For my hairs black colouring :

For my locks, girls, let 'em be

Grey or white, all's one to me.

Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.

Quick facts

Poem
To his Girls
Poet
Robert Herrick
Length
4 lines
Form
Lyric Poem, Short Poems
Themes
Life, 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
4 lines · one 4-line stanza
Line length
Mostly 7-syllable lines.

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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
PoetryDBTo his Girls 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 4bbe99e9d46b6e7b
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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