The balsam pine visited the corner of our living room
Bringing colorful lights and ornaments to the living room
Colorful lights helped to counter the period of darkness
As days grew shorter, casting less light into the living room
Various ornaments shared bits of memories, places visited,
Times of life, milestones, all within reach in the living room
The irony of the evergreen tree once outside in fullness of life
Cut and carried in to stand in the corner of the living room
The evergreen drank heartily for several days, then stopped
There was still water in the tree well in the living room
The pine needles once flexible became pointy hard
And started to fall covering the tree apron in the living room
II
The annual ritual to undo the decorations, place the ornaments
Safely away until they'll be brought next year to the living room
The angel on the top of the balsam is the first one on but the last
One off as the lights are unbound from the tree in the living room
The strings of light are coiled and returned to their containers
For storage until next year when they come to light the living room
The balsam is removed from the stand, carried back outdoor
To await the curbside pickup, leaving empty space in the living room
Vacuum and other cleaning elements are found to clean up
The trail of the tree out the door from the living room
When the cleaning is complete, furniture can be rearranged
To fill in the empty space where the tree visited in the living room
So Sherlock, will you ever get an artificial tree to make all this
Easier? No, there must be room for life in the living room
