Big as buxom Granmamas
festive fir in wide embrace
family Christmas histories
hang beneath each branch.
Baubles mark nativities
the faded fairy's still atop.
Cue the myriad twinkling lights
tree looks readied for a dance
wrapped about with tinsel stoles
- severed at her source

45 thoughts on “Last dance”

1. Oh, the last line… this reminds me of Hans-Christian Anderssen’s story The fir-tree

   http://hca.gilead.org.il/fir_tree.html

   1. I know it and it is no fable!

2. well… that’s a rather harsh (but obviously true) ending, Laura 😉

   I really enjoyed your word choices in this poem… they really flowed for me.

   ❤
   David

   1. thank you for your appreciation of the words – I could hear a rhyme pattern trying to get through but I did not want to be drawn!
      p.s. nothing harsher than a stumped tree

3. The “faded fairy” lives on! Love that and how the tree is all dolled up for one last dance.

   1. tinsel summoned the dance but the tree is disabled!

      1. Yes, poor tree….we cut them down and then expect so much out of them.

4. Great imagery in every line.

   1. glad you can see it – thank you

5. Great title. Your last line jolts us back to reality.

   1. last line fits the title – shocking but too true. Even so the rest of the decor is nice 🙂

      1. 🙂

6. Let’s hope we can at least make the dance one to remember

   1. indeed – and the tree last danced in a field

7. Hard to overlook the stump, even with those glittering stoles. Wonderful work, LB.

   1. many thanks Ron – all dressed up and no knowhow to dance

8. We had a record of the Little Fir Tree read by Boris Karloff of all people. If you want to make kids feel guilty at Christmas…

   1. we always had a fake one which I hated but at least there was no childhood guilt –

9. A fair reading would not be crushing my heart, but I feel like I taste a bit of that ephemeral beauty that all natural things give me. I can’t recall at the top of my head the name of the precocious child who broke off a branch of cherry blossoms, knowing they’d live longer if left alone but hoping also that living a shortened life all the more beloved would be worth it. Regardless, a fond memory for a fondly considered poem.

   1. many thanks Masa for your considered feedback

10. That last line jolted me, and brought me back to reality. I have used a real one, preferring the convenience of a plastic one. What is hurtful to see is when they are thrown away by the new year, sigh.

    1. NYC recycles them into mulch for city parks, something I thought every place did, but maybe not.

       1. what a fate for a tree! yes its some kind of solution and many places do it- here in the UK too

          1. I guess that’s why they call them tree farms. Like animals raised for consumption and other farmed plants, they are only alive because their death is pre-planned. It’s not a pleasant thought.

             1. oh that is even sadder – but true

    2. actually that last line came to me unexpectedly Grace – I was just the mouthpiece it seems!
       p.s. more and more of us are opting for rooted trees in pots – we even have a rent a tree scheme whereby the tree is returned to the grower for another year

11. ‘wrapped about with tinsel stoles’ ~ love this imagery, Stoles are not so fashionable these days but I do remember when they were! And yes, one always wore a ‘stole’ when attending a dance. Great quadrille!

    1. thank you Carol – our memories go back to the days of formal dances!

12. We cut the limbs off trees for wreaths and we “sever” them from mother earth to wear our baubles: brutally charged imagery of horror. An unexpectedly severe indictment, Laura.
    Pax,
    Dora

    1. – no guilt trip intended Dora but more and more I see only a frivolous waste of a tree

13. nice imagery

    1. thanks Ron

14. Quite a complex poem in few words. The title triggered several songs in my head which played as I read. Well done.

    1. thank you Bill – glad you read more between the lines

       1. You’re welcome, Laura.

15. Amazed by the ‘Tinsel stole’ and the last line that really resonates with me is the severed stalk. Wonderful, Laura.

    1. I appreciate your appreciation!

16. The first line brought a smile, the last a wince! In between you brought alive the Christmas ritual tree decorating.

    1. could not have wanted more for this poem so thank you for that synopsis

       1. You are welcome.

17. A heartfelt well done from my corner of the world! Happy to report I have an angel atop our tree. Cheers.

    1. thanks Helen – angels belong on high 😉

18. Cutting, Laura! Wonderful imagery in this.

    1. Cutting indeed – many thanks for your sharp remark!

       1. 😊

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