BARD’S SONG

                            By Shelby Lee Chandler II

Gifts

 

If a thousand men brought gifts of steeds,

Of beauty and pure born,

Then search, I will, and find for thee,

A yearling unicorn.

 

If a thousand men brought gifts of birds,

To soar gracefully from above,

Then bring I will from other lands,

To you, the white-winged dove.

 

If roses be what these men bring,

Red, and lovely to the sight,

Then the gift of roses, from me to you,

Will be of pink petals, fair and bright.

 

If they brought, gifts of rings,

Of silver and of gold,

To you I give my claddagh Éire,

Crowned with diamonds old.

 

If these men send minstrels fair,

To sing, and win your hand,

I would bring myself to sing a song,

With no equal in the land.

 

And if they send the gift of cloth,

Of satin, and of lace,

Then a gown of silk, I'd bring to thee,

To enhance thy gentle grace.

 

But if they send their love as gifts,

Then there is nothing I can do,

For my love has been given,

So long ago to you.