Lyric Poem · Love
To the Willow-tree
1Thou art to all lost love the best,
2The only true plant found,
3Wherewith young men and maids distrest
4And left of love, are crown'd.
5When once the lover's rose is dead
6Or laid aside forlorn,
7Then willow-garlands, 'bout the head,
8Bedew'd with tears, are worn.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“To the Willow-tree” by Robert Herrick — quilloak.com/poems/to-the-willow-tree
Quick facts
- Poem
- To the Willow-tree
- Poet
- Robert Herrick
- Length
- 16 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Love, Nature, Sad
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
- 16 lines · 4 quatrains
- Line length
- Lines run 6-9 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
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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 the Willow-tree 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 61d6a13ec3a32247…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.