MORE blest is he who gives than who receives, For he that gives doth always something get: Angelic usurers that interest set: And what we give is like the cloak of leaves Which to the beggared earth the great trees fling, Thoughtless of gain in chilly autumn days: The mystic husbandry of nature's ways Shall fetch it back in greenery of the Spring. One tender gift there is, my little maid, That doth the giver and receiver bless, And shall with obligation none distress; Coin of the heart in God's just balance weighed; Wherefore, sweet spendthrift, still be prodigal, And freely squander what thou hast from all. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LAMENT FOR [THE DEATH OF] THOMAS DAVIS by SAMUEL FERGUSON THE MAID OF NEIDPATH by WALTER SCOTT TWELVE SONNETS: 7. PERFECT UNION by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) CONFESSIONS by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |