When I was one-and-twenty那年我二十一
I heard a wise man say,智者面命耳提:
＂Give crowns and pounds and guineas＂錢財金銀可散盡,
But not your heart away;切莫獻真心;
Give pearls away and rubies珍珠寶玉皆可棄,
But keep your fancy free.＂獨留真情意。＂
But I was one-and-twenty,然而我僅二十一
No use to talk to me.什麼也聽不進。
When I was one-and-twenty那年我二十一
I heard him say again,他又諄諄提醒:
＂The heart out of the bosom＂付出真心
Was never given in vain;代價不輕;
'Tis paid with sighs a plenty換來聲聲嘆息,
And sold for endless rue.＂悔恨無止無盡。＂
And I am two-and-twenty,如今我二十二,
And oh,‘tis true,‘tis true.啊,果然有理。有理。
－by A.E. Housman(1859-1936)