A Christmas Modification

We’ll go and cut our own tree, what a pleasure!
We’ll get it with the horses and the sleigh.

Our first Christmas really will be special
With a tree from our own woods on Christmas Day.

So, harness up old Dolly and old Shorty,
And get the bow saw to cut down the tree.

They all look so lush and beautiful from here;
One that’s just perfect won’t be hard to see.

The sleighride across the fields was such a thrill,
Laddie barking just as always in those times.

Noses and fingers started to get colder
Even before we reached the stand of pines.

They either seemed to have such big, wide bottoms
Or so few branches higher for their size.

As it got colder, we seemed to be less fussy
Therefore we settled on a compromise.

So we cut down a white pine and put it on the sleigh box,
Though it extended far on either side.

We tried to hold it up so that its needles
Would not all rub off on the half-mile ride.

We sized it up a bit more as we rode along,
Trying to hold it from the snowy crust.

When we got it to the house we quickly saw
Some major adjustments were to be a must.

Hauling it into the roomy kitchen,
Even corner-wise, it wouldn’t fit
Partly outside, we had to make our minds up—
Would we use the bottom or the top of it?
We saw that it was slimmer halfway up,
And that the top leaned over to one side.

The star could be used to disguise the cut;
No time to waste; we needed to decide.

Again, the temperature sped our decision.

The old bow saw was rapidly applied.

We gladly shut the door on freezing winds
And put the slightly off-side top outside.

We’ve never said it was the prettiest tree ever,
The decorations sparse and humble too,
But we just sat and happily snuggled by it
Our first Christmas when married life was new.