THE GIFT Proffer no gift if I may not give you an equal measure But if thou must to me entrust an item I may treasure Let it not be a thing to keep, protect and hide away But grant me leave to be and choose: my own free will obey And I will prize what you bestow, and you elect to be Thus we may share a bless’ed life in reciprocity This is an idealistic poem - expressing principles that I feel I should follow, but don’t always live up to - free and balanced exchange - freedom of choice - the greatest gift is that of granting beingness to another (allowing them to be themselves, ‘warts and all’)