English poem
My first is given and received, a blessing and a bane
by Carolyn Wells (1862–1942)
My first is given and received, a blessing and a bane; You may buy it at the station, get it gratis on the train; You may find it in a puppet-booth or in a banquet-hall, And I think perhaps the Roman is the noblest of them all.
’Twas in my second, long ago, brave men put out to sea; And at a garden-fête I saw my second flowing free; And I leaned against my second of strong and solid oak, But as I grasped my second, alas, it dropped and broke.
My whole at Christmas seasons with holly we entwine; Upon the old Whig taverns ’t was painted as a sign; But in its depths lurk dangers, from its floating cakes of ice To its balmy breath of sugar-cane, its tropic fruits and spice.