When first my way to fair I took

by A. E. Housman

    When first my way to fair I took
    Few pence in purse had I,
    And long I used to stand and look
    At things I could not buy.

    Now times are altered:    if I care
    To buy a thing, I can;
    The pence are here and here’s the fair,
    But where’s the lost young man?

     - To think that two and two are four
    And neither five nor three
    The heart of man has long been sore
    And long ‘tis like to be.