A Selection from the Lyrical Poems of Robert Herrick

255. TO HIS SAVIOUR, A CHILD; A PRESENT, BY A CHILD

     Go, pretty child, and bear this flower
     Unto thy little Saviour;
     And tell him, by that bud now blown,
     He is the Rose of Sharon known.
     When thou hast said so, stick it there
     Upon his bib or stomacher;
     And tell him, for good handsel too,
     That thou hast brought a whistle new,
     Made of a clean straight oaten reed,
     To charm his cries at time of need;
     Tell him, for coral, thou hast none,
     But if thou hadst, he should have one;
     But poor thou art, and known to be
     Even as moneyless as he.
     Lastly, if thou canst win a kiss
     From those melifluous lips of his;—
     Then never take a second on,
     To spoil the first impression.