A Selection from the Lyrical Poems of Robert Herrick

208. THE PRESENT; OR, THE BAG OF THE BEE:

     Fly to my mistress, pretty pilfering bee,
     And say thou bring'st this honey-bag from me;
     When on her lip thou hast thy sweet dew placed,
     Mark if her tongue but slyly steal a taste;
     If so, we live; if not, with mournful hum,
     Toll forth my death; next, to my burial come.