Oct 3, 2009

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
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 bossom
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(1859-1936)

4 comments:

gha said...

could u pls tell me what the poetry means?i've been separated frm literature for a long time..all the critical thinking skills are fading away..huhu..i lost the ability to define poetry..huhu

aznah said...

to me basically this poem is talking abt how sometime,there are true things we ignored because we havent experienced it yet.but as we grow older,we learned abt all the things people have been talking abt.the transition from a young naive person to a more experienced adult..probly..it's up to your interpretation.

gha said...

oo..yeke..thnx

aznah said...

it's the meaning when i read it.but really,u can translate it anyway u want.