When I was one-and-twenty
-------------------------
by A. E. Houseman
 
 
WHEN I was one-and-twenty	
  I heard a wise man say,	
‘Give crowns and pounds and guineas	
  But not your heart away;	
 
Give pearls away and rubies	        5
  But keep your fancy free.’	
But I was one-and-twenty,	
  No use to talk to me.	
 
When I was one-and-twenty	
  I heard him say again,	        10
‘The heart out of the bosom	
  Was never given in vain;	
’Tis paid with sighs a plenty	
  And sold for endless rue.’	
And I am two-and-twenty,	        15
  And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true.