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.