当我二十一岁时

当我二十一岁时

诗人以轻松而又有讽刺意味的诗句描述了一个青年恋爱时的感受。聪明人不要他轻易去谈恋爱以免招致无穷的失望与苦恼，他未听劝告，二十一岁就谈情说爱起来，结果，正如聪明人所说的，才一年光景（到了二十二岁），他已感到无穷的烦恼。

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.

我二十一岁的时候

听到一位智者说:

“宁献王冠金银,

勿滥奉情交心;

宁赠珠宝珍稀,

勿丢幻想之翼。”

可惜二十一岁的我

对此充耳不闻。

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.

我二十一岁的时候

又听智者说:

“推心置腹的人,

永远不会徒然无所获;

它换来的是悠悠哀叹

和无尽的悔恨。”

我现在二十二岁了,

唉,这话千真万确,万确千真。 ——摘自《豆瓣》