Lyric Poem · Nature

To the Rose: Song

by Robert Herrick

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1Go, happy Rose, and interwove

2With other flowers, bind my Love.

3Tell her, too, she must not be

4Longer flowing, longer free,

5That so oft has fetter'd me.

6Say, if she's fretful, I have bands

7Of pearl and gold, to bind her hands;

8Tell her, if she struggle still,

9I have myrtle rods at will,

10For to tame, though not to kill.

11Take thou my blessing thus, and go

12And tell her this, — but do not so! —

13Lest a handsome anger fly

14Like a lightning from her eye,

15And burn thee up, as well as I!

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“To the Rose: Song” by Robert Herrick — quilloak.com/poems/to-the-rose-song

Quick facts

Poem: To the Rose: Song
Poet: Robert Herrick
Length: 15 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: 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: 15 lines · 3 quintains
End rhyme: AABBB in 67% of the stanzas. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
Line length: Lines run 7-8 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Author record: Robert Herrick1591–1674
Source record: PoetryDBTo the Rose: Song 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 6f5b76221e1403b6…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Love

To the Rose: Song

Quick facts

How this poem works

A traceable edition

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