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 a plenty
And sold for endless rue.”
And I am two-and-twenty,
And oh, ‘tis true, ‘tis true.
-A.E. Housman
When I was one-and-twenty,
I heard a wise man say
“Don’t waste your time on Tumblr;
Go study for today.
Stop tidying your room up
It’s clean enough for now.”
But I was one-and-twenty,
So I whittled anyhow.
When I was one-and-twenty,
I heard him say again,
“Your finals are on Thursday
So you must prepare your brain;
Read poetry, do science,
Put some numbers in your head.”
But I am still one-and-twenty,
So I think I’ll go to bed.
—Me, not studying
