When I was one and twenty

As twenty-two nears, the poem below becomes clearer.And today when one of my closest friends turns twenty one,I proffer her the same advice as the wise man in the poem below.

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


I feel more than ever as if the words penned above were custom made for me..sigh.

And yet someone would remind me- In hope we live! :)