Joachim Ringelnatz - On A Present

A gift for you I went to buy
A present priced, though, not too high.
What pity that an iron gadget
Reduced by rust, looks simply wretched.
And yet I want to spend some money.
Just for good measure I shall, honey,
Add something else, a funny story.
If I had only, I am sorry,
An antique that you'd really like!
But then: what good to you my pike?
The Munich stein there, on this shelf,
Its lion head deformed a strike.
The Buddha I am keeping for myself.
And you don't like my butterfly collection
Brought once from China by a friend.
Oh no, the couch and dining section
Are just too big for me to send.
Also, I bought them on a loan.
Alas! All yesternight I rent
My brains, what of my own
I could give you. Did not sleep at all
Checked the hours like a cop
But finally I found this small
Lousy bit of thingumbob.
But I loved to stay awake for you.
Do now what I could not do:
Sleep in your bed,
Do not forget
Seven sleepless hours represents this piece.
Rob me of more hours, please.

Joachim Ringelnatz

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/on-a-present/