Valentine's Day

"CHERRY-RIPE"
By Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

CHERRY-RIPE, ripe, ripe, I cry,
Full and fair ones ; come and buy.
If so be you ask me where
They do grow, I answer : There,
Where my Julia's lips do smile ;
There's the land, or cherry-isle,
Whose plantations fully show
All the year where cherries grow

Herrick is renowned for his poetry in the carpe diem genre. Wiki: "The over-riding message of Herrick’s work is that life is short, the world is beautiful, love is splendid, and we must use the short time we have to make the most of it."

His poem, "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time," was quoted in the film, Dead Poets Society (1989) to illustrate seize the day sentiment. You can see that scene in my post here.