XIII. When I was one-and-twenty. Housman, A. E. 1896. A Shropshire Lad

A. E. Housman (1859–1936). A Shropshire Lad. 1896.

XIII. When I was one-and-twenty


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.