quote · Legacy record
Fair pledges of a fruitful tree, Why do you fall so fast? Your date is not so past But you may stay yet here awhile, To blush and gently smile, And go at last. What! were ye born to be An hour and half’s delight And so to bid good-night? ’Twas pity nature brought ye forth Merely to show your worth, And lose you quite. But you are lovely leaves, where we May read how soon things have Their end, though ne’er so brave, And after they have shown their pride Like you awhile, they glide Into the grave.
Fair pledges of a fruitful tree, Why do you fall so fast? Your date is not so past But you may stay yet here awhile, To blush and gently smile, And go at last. What! were ye born to be An hour and half’s delight And so to bid good-night? ’Twas pity nature brought ye forth Merely to show your worth, And lose you quite. But you are lovely leaves, where we May read how soon things have Their end, though ne’er so brave, And after they have shown their pride Like you awhile, they glide Into the grave.
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Herrick (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 82 · printed citation: Herrick · subject: BLOSSOM
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.