You tell on yourself by the friends you seek,
     By the very manner in which you speak,
By the way you employ your leisure time,
     By the use you make of dollar and dime;
You tell what you are by the things you wear,
     By the spirit in which your burdens bear,
By the kinds of things at which you laugh,
     By the records you play on the phonograph;
You tell what you are by the way you walk,
     By the things of which you delight to talk,
By the manner in which you bear defeat,
     By so simple a thing as how you eat,
By the books you choose from the well-filled shelf.
     In these ways and more, you tell on yourself;
So, there’s really no particle of sense
     In an effort to keep up false pretense.

This poem is in the public domain.