Abandoned Tree


Silver tinsel clings
to brown needles
like arms that can’t let go.
When I see a Christmas tree
lying next to the curb,
I wonder what secrets
are hidden in its branches.

Is there joy of
a family united
or sorrow the season
left a void?

What were the memories
written in wrapping
 paper and ribbon
where the tree once stood?

The evergreen that was
the decorated centerpiece
of a Christmas holiday
now lies brown and abandoned.

I can’t know the story
that sits silent in its limbs.
All I can do as I stand
over its crumbling glory
is hope that if it could speak
it would tell me, “I saw Peace.”

©Susie Clevenger 2012
Photograph: Photobucket


Comments

Maude Lynn said…
To me, few things are as sad as the abandoned Christmas tree. Beautiful write.
Brian Miller said…
nice susan...a christmas tree by the roadside...what does it hold...what of the family that once had it in their home...great ponderings...

already read the one you did for OLN so thought i's poke around a bit...smiles.
Sherry Blue Sky said…
ooo, I love this, especially "I saw Peace". Beautiful, Susie.
Ed Pilolla said…
i like the stories you see in the branches. i wonder what actually being a christmas tree is like. life and death, i presume.
Susie Swanson said…
Great poem, I've always wondered that myself..Susie
This poem exemplifies what I love about poetry... you saw something that others may have missed and brought forth a hidden truth, beautifully.

A wonderful surprise, this poem. Thanks.