Lyric Poem · Sad
To Primroses Filled with Morning Dew
1Why do ye weep, sweet babes? can tears
2Speak grief in you,
3Who were but born
4just as the modest morn
5Teem'd her refreshing dew?
6Alas, you have not known that shower
7That mars a flower,
8Nor felt th' unkind
9Breath of a blasting wind,
10Nor are ye worn with years;
11Or warp'd as we,
12Who think it strange to see,
13Such pretty flowers, like to orphans young,
14To speak by tears, before ye have a tongue.
15Speak, whimp'ring younglings, and make known
16The reason why
17Ye droop and weep;
18Is it for want of sleep,
19Or childish lullaby?
20Or that ye have not seen as yet
21The violet?
22Or brought a kiss
23From that Sweet-heart, to this?
24 — No, no, this sorrow shown
25By your tears shed,
26Would have this lecture read,
27That things of greatest, so of meanest worth,
28Conceived with grief are, and with tears brought forth.
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“To Primroses Filled with Morning Dew” by Robert Herrick — quilloak.com/poems/to-primroses-filled-with-morning-dew
Quick facts
- Poem
- To Primroses Filled with Morning Dew
- Poet
- Robert Herrick
- Length
- 28 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Sad, Nature, Love
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
- 28 lines · 2 stanzas of 14 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 Primroses Filled with Morning Dew 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 bc5e9da0ed534e38…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.