Iron Mountain ski jump

Iron Mountain ski jump

Thursday, December 1, 2016

ODE TO A TWO-FOOT K-MART CHRISTMAS TREE 12-1-16


Helen is an excellent and enthusiastic seasonal decorator. Christmas has always been her favorite time for decorating, but when we moved from a large house to a small condo 18 months ago, she bravely gave up our big Christmas tree and a lot of decorations.

Still, I had to hang as many shelves as possible on the walls of our narrow one-car condo garage to accommodate the remaining decorations. Yesterday I took down 16 boxes—some large, some not quite as large--and a wreath.

16 is actually a smaller number than last year. We learned in our first condo Christmas that some things were not necessary. We did add one thing last year, though, and Helen has been very brave about accepting it, in part because last year and this year, we did not host Christmas, for the first times, but instead go to daughter Katie’s house. She has a really big tree.

Anyway, I thought it wise to write a poem about our new condo Christmas tree, in honor of Helen’s gracious acceptance of a smaller Christmas. It’s not long, but you can sing it…


ODE TO A TWO-FOOT K-MART CHRISTMAS TREE

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
How shortened are your branches.

You stand upon a table round
You’re much too short to be on the ground
Your ornaments do not make a sound
Gifts beneath you cannot be found

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
How shortened are your branches

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Forever short your stature.
But your tiny lights bring large delight
We smile when you are in our sight
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Size is no measure of pleasure


John Robert McFarland

No comments:

Post a Comment