Gather Ye Rosebuds

[haha]

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.

For most of us it's a bit late to follow this literally. But News Year Eve, and the pleasure found there remind me that this is a good principle, no matter what age we are.

What we have now is can only be enjoyed now. Next year may offer good things, but likely not exactly what is available now. So why wait? Laissez le bon temps roulez!

Ha

 

[Khan]

[SIZE=-1]The grave's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.
- Andrew Marvell
"To His Coy Mistress"[/SIZE]

 

[Moemg]

You are so right ! Who knows what tomorrow brings enjoy the moment !

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

my poetry is not very good but i think this means i'm supposed to go out and get laid today. a happy new year it is. and to one and all.

my latin is also not so good but i think it goes: vidi vici veni

 

[calmloki]

my latin is also not so good but i think it goes: vidi vici veni

O you funny man!

 

[bssc]

And I thought we were talking about Citizen Kane.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

O you funny man!

when i'm not being poetic i'm might be being just a little crass but i do try to be fun about it.

"The higher he's a-getting, The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he's to setting" describes an erection, an orgasm and going flaccid.

"And while ye may, go marry: For having lost but once your prime, You may for ever tarry" sounds like marriage but again it is reference to sexual prim(ing), to getting it while you can.

what better metaphor for life than sexual orgasm which brings forth life.

a french phrase might describe sexual orgasm better "le petit mort" or "a little death".

i found on a sondheim forum this good explanation:

I had understood that it means a little more than that - it describes an ecstatic suspension of consciousness and desire. It was also specifically something that was experienced by women - I'm not sure if that's the reason you will find it written La Petite Mort (not to be confused with la petite morte, which is completely different).

Georges Bataille coined the phrase in his novel Madame Edwarda written in the late 30's. The term is not used in this way in current French but is used to describe the ultimate high to be gained by the use of drugs.