When I Was One-And-Twenty

When I Was One-And-Twenty
by A. E. Housman

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 
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, 
"The heart out of the bosom 
Was never given in vain; 
'Tis paid with sighs aplenty 
And sold for endless rue." 
And I am two-and-twenty 
And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.