A freely given gift
Is a rare thing
Today
Or any day
Since most aren’t, when you think about it
Most gifts are exchanges
Providing tit for tat
Implicit with strings
Attached to some obligation
Some gifts announce themselves
Screaming
Look at me!
Look at me!
I’m pretty!
I sparkle!
I shine!
But birthday gifts and Christmas baubles
Stop arriving
Unless you give back, in return
Some are bribes
Part of a promise or some kind of trade
Ritualistic
Part of the game
Even a natural talent, or a skill
Isn’t a gift at all
At least one that’s free
Since they come with the responsibility
To live up to the gift
And if you don’t
Guilt
Disappointment
Regret
Come calling
Come to remind you of what might have been
No, freely given gifts are rare
Spontaneous and just because
No expectations going forward
No strings attached behind
No this for that
Or mine and yours
Just an impulse
A thought that gets released
Between friends
David Trudel © 2012
