A Gift Horse

Bags and bags of rolls of Wrapping paper sat in piles By the curb as passersby Revealed their New York guiles. The store must not have had the room To keep them for a year, So why not spread the wealth around And help them disappear? Some people grabbed a handful Which looked very Christmasy; Three rolls with smiling snowmen Seemed appropriate for me. The takers grinned and marveled At this unexpected gift. I wonder, then, how many, Once at home, were slightly miffed… For close inspection showed each roll Was slit from stem to stern, Reminding me that nothing’s free, A lesson I should learn. To look a gift horse in the mouth Is never deemed correct, But there are times that certain gifts Are ones we should reject.