Gifts Come, More Times than Not, as Obligations

Hear me read the poem:
As an MP3 file

Gifts come, more times than not, as obligations.
Of joy there is no greater sign than giving.
Deep pleasures are attachments, not sensations,
Created in the crucible of living.
How grateful, then, am I for being given
In joy and love the honor of this duty!
Life blesses those who in their hearts have striven
Day by day for surreptitious beauty.