No man may accept a gift with honor— Save from a friend, a friend that he knows well, Who, when friendship prompts him to be donor Gives more than e'en the gift itself could tell; Whose heart and soul go out in loving thought, Whose prayers attend the simplest proffered gift, Whose act in kindliness and love's begot, Whose motives none would ever think to sift. But where pure love doth prompt the giver's hand, No servile motives underlie the act, Then honor, truth and rectitude shall stand And vouch for its sincerity in fact. But well it is for young men to beware, For often in a gift there is implied Subserviency or that which might ensnare And by acceptance would their honor cast aside. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MERCY OF LAZARUS by STEPHEN DOBYNS WHAT I'VE BELIEVED IN by JAMES GALVIN LETHE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE GOLDEN WEDDING OF STERLING AND SARAH LANIER by SIDNEY LANIER MARJORIE'S WOOING by EMMA LAZARUS TO GOD THE FATHER by KATHERINE MANSFIELD DOMESDAY BOOK: THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |