Three gifts I presented on this Mother’s Day,
Each one said something I wanted to say.
Each wrapped in paper, and sealed with tape,
All three were books of the same size and shape.
Yet all were quite different in subject and tone,
For each book was meant for one person alone.
One showed how Yiddish evolved by degrees,
The second, inventions by crazed Japanese.
The third described answers by students in school
That were all incorrect yet were funny and cool.
A few folks who know me, from those clues I’m sure
Will figure out just who each present was for.
And that, in a way, gets us right to the heart:
It’s important to know — to know right from the start —
That issues of wrapping, of size and of shape,
Are of no more import than the choice of Scotch tape.
In giving a gift those are not the core mission.
The key is that small spark of true recognition
Which is why when we shop so much time is involved
Until the true riddle of giving is solved:
To find that best gift, the best one by far,
That says: “I can see you; I love who you are.”