Maid of Gotham, Ere We Part — Summary

Samuel Hoffenstein’s four-line poem is a witty, slightly naughty goodbye. The speaker addresses a woman he calls “Maid of Gotham” and asks her, before they part, to “have a hospitable heart.” The reason is blunt: since the pleasure they’ve shared is bound to end anyway, she should do him one last favor and introduce him to her friend. There’s no grief or jealousy here. Instead, the mood is light, detached, and mischievous. Love or flirtation is treated as a passing entertainment, something to be passed along almost politely. The rhyme and concise form make it feel like an epigram or a clever toast. The word “hospitable” turns romance into a social courtesy, and the final line lands as a comic surprise. It’s the voice of a worldly speaker who refuses to take parting too seriously—more interested in the next introduction than in mourning the end.