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.