Poem by Alfred Edward Housman

Additional Poems. 4. It Is No Gift I Tender

It is no gift I tender,
        A loan is all I can;
But do not scorn the lender;
        Man gets no more from man.

Oh, mortal man may borrow
        What mortal man can lend;
And ’twill not end tomorrow,
        Though sure enough ’twill end.

If death and time are stronger
        A love may yet be strong;
The world will last for longer
        But this will last for long.

1. More Poems. 11. The Rainy Pleiads Wester
2. More Poems. 25. Yon Flakes that Fret the Eastern Sky
3. More Poems. 15. Tarry, Delight; so Seldom Met
4. More Poems. 40. Farewell to a Name and a Number
5. Look Not In My Eyes, For Fear

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