Tomorrow Will Be Dying By Langston Hughes

The poem’s first stanza explains how fast the end of the day is approaching. The first two lines, “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying”, develop a sense of urgency within the stanza, as if it is telling someone to gather their things before time runs out. This also conveys the image that time will continue no matter what, and anything that comes in its path will soon run its course and die. The same idea is revealed in the next two lines, when it says “And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.”An object’s youth and prime will eventually begin to wither as time goes on.

The second stanza explains the sun’s activity and how it relates to the passage of time. The first line of the stanza describes the sun as “the glorious lamp of heaven”, meaning that the sun controls the time of day. However, the sun’s rising and setting can also be interpreted as the flow of life for a person. The last two lines of the stanza read “The sooner will his race be run, and nearer he’s to setting”, indicating that it does not stay in the sky forever; eventually, it runs its course and comes to a close. Much like the sun’s behavior, a person is born
This idea is blatantly stated in the first two lines, which read “That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer.” This is a crucial stage in one’s life. A large bulk of memories and ideas are created in one’s youth, so they must make the most of it. However, most people fail to realize that being young does not last forever. If not spent the right way, time will eat away at this stage and it will be ruined. This is evidenced in the last two lines when it says “But being spent, the worse, and worst, Times still succeed the former.” In other words, spend your youth wisely, or it could have negative consequences later