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A Farewell to a Christmas Tree
by Mary Ellen Smith
the tree is dry and has to go
just a small little pine you know.
adorned in silver, red and gold
she got too dry, too fast, too old.
her starlit hat is put away
and the lights are coming off today.
her skirt of tinsel light and airy
made her look like a Christmas Fairy.
alas, what's left is hooks and wire
move her out in case of fire...
while green she did her job this yule
now shes reduced to kindling fuel.
but what noble a cause she did bear
in her finery, her Christmas wear.
we will not forget her in our grief
(or the presents that were underneath.) :)
in another house on another street
another tree her fate will meet.
another, another, another, untill
they'll all end up at the landfill.
so, we drag our trees out to the curbs
its what we do here in the burbs
and if we time it with any luck
we won't miss the big trash truck.
12/27/2003
Author's Note: Seems so sad every year when the tree comes down...farewell good little tree...
Posted on 12/27/2003
Copyright © 2024 Mary Ellen Smith
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Maureen Glaude on 12/27/03 at 05:54 PM yes, it does. Ours went up late this year, just a few days before Christmas, so I think it'll last longer. loved this poem, a fine tribute to the generous symbol that enters our house in all its glory, then seems so discarded at the end. I always think that too. |
| Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 12/27/03 at 07:43 PM As the tree goes up it must come down! The yearly ritual. What remains are the memories of what it all means. Very colorful, descriptive with a touch of humor. |
| Posted by Cathlyn Cartier on 12/29/03 at 02:36 AM every year putting up the tree, the memories of each ornament, and the new ornaments that are added...
Here are old, tired trees are given a new purpose, they help rebuild the sand dunes at the beach, and create underwater habitats in the bay. =) |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 12/29/03 at 11:41 PM We pine for pine or is it fir either kind does
make a stir. Fun Poem Mar....Charlie |
| Posted by Deborah S Regan on 12/31/03 at 06:26 AM great, but the last stanza is kind of abrupt, a bummer (but I guess it's true!) |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 12/29/05 at 01:15 AM Congratulations for poem of the day Mar. Well deserving...Charlie |
| Posted by Joan Serratelli on 02/18/09 at 07:17 PM Never had a Christmas tree, but I've always wanted one. Seems a shame that they cannot stay up longer, but time marhes on. |
| Posted by Uriel Tovar on 06/16/11 at 01:04 AM this was posted on my birthday :) |
| Posted by Ben Evans on 08/31/11 at 03:53 PM I've read this completely out of season, and it's an evocative premonition. I actually planted our this year; it lasted until March! |
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