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 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 a plenty
and sold for endless rue."
And I am two-and-twenty,
And oh 'tis true, 'tis true.

~ A.E. Houseman