Housman

When I Was One-and-Twenty

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 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,

And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.

Works Cited

Housman, A.E. "When I Was One-and-Twenty." British Literature, for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 1992. 303. Print.