Christmas extra

[Lyd12]

The The Christmas treeIn the dark and damp of the alley cold,Lay the Christmas tree that hadn’t been sold;By a shopman dourly thrown outside;With the ruck and rubble of Christmas-tide;Trodden deep in the muck and mire,Unworthy even to feed a fire…So I stopped and salvaged that tarnished tree,And thus is the story it told to me:“My Mother was Queen of the forest glade,And proudly I prospered in her shade;For she said to me: ‘When I am dead,You will be monarch in my stead,And reign, as I, for a hundred years,A tower of triumph amid your peers,When I crash in storm I will yield you space;Son, you will worthily take my place.’“So I grew in grace like a happy child,In the heart of the forest free and wild;And the moss and the ferns were all about,And the craintive mice crept in and out;And a wood-dove swung on my highest twig,And a chipmunk chattered: ‘So big! So big!’And a shy fawn nibbled a tender shoot,And a rabbit nibbled under my root…Oh, I was happy in rain and shineAs I thought of the destiny that was mine!Then a man with an axe came cruising byAnd I knew that my fate was to fall and die.“With a hundred others he packed me tight,And we drove to a magic city of light,To an avenue lined with Christmas trees,And I thought: may be I’ll be one of these,Tinselled with silver and tricked with gold,A lovely sight for a child to behold;A-glitter with lights of every hue,Ruby and emerald, orange and blue,And kiddies dancing, with shrieks of glee –One might fare worse than a Christmas tree.“So they stood me up with a hundred moreIn the blaze of a big department store;But I thought of the forest dark and still,And the dew and the snow and the heat and the chill,And the soft chinook and the summer breeze,And the dappled deer and the birds and the bees…I was so homesick I wanted to cry,But patient I waited for someone to buy.And some said ‘Too big,’ and some ‘Too small,’And some passed on saying nothing at all.Then a little boy cried: Ma, buy that one,’But she shook her head: ‘Too dear, my son.”So the evening came, when they closed the store,And I was left on the littered floor,A tree unwanted, despised, unsold,Thrown out at last in the alley cold.”Then I said: “Don’t sorrow; at least you’ll beA bright and beautiful New Year’s tree,All shimmer and glimmer and glow and gleam,A radiant sight like a fairy dream.For there is a little child I know,Who lives in poverty, want and woe;Who lies abed from morn to night,And never has known an hour’s delight…”So I stood the tree at the foot of her bed:“Santa’s a little late,” I said.“Poor old chap! Snowbound on the way,lBut he’s here at last, so let’s be gay.”Then she woke from sleep and she saw you there,And her eyes were love and her lips were prayer.And her thin little arms were stretched to youWith a yearning joy that they never knew.She woke from the darkest dark to seeLike a heavenly vision, that Christmas Tree.Her mother despaired and feared the end,But from that day she began to mend,To play, to sing, to laugh with glee…Bless you, O little Christmas Tree!You died, but your life was not in vain:You helped a child to forget her pain,And let hope live in our hearts again.by Robert William Service

[sassy59]

Heartwarming Iris, very special . Thank you for that. Love and hugs, Carole xxxx❤️

[Donald_1931]

The Christmas tree (Reformatted for Iris)

In the dark and damp of the alley cold,

Lay the Christmas tree that hadn’t been sold;

By a shopman dourly thrown outside;

With the ruck and rubble of Christmas-tide;

Trodden deep in the muck and mire,

Unworthy even to feed a fire…

So I stopped and salvaged that tarnished tree,

And thus is the story it told to me:“

My Mother was Queen of the forest glade,

And proudly I prospered in her shade;

For she said to me:

‘When I am dead,

You will be monarch in my stead,

And reign, as I, for a hundred years,

A tower of triumph amid your peers,

When I crash in storm I will yield you space;

Son, you will worthily take my place.

’“So I grew in grace like a happy child,

In the heart of the forest free and wild;

And the moss and the ferns were all about,

And the craintive mice crept in and out;

And a wood-dove swung on my highest twig,

And a chipmunk chattered:

‘So big! So big!’

And a shy fawn nibbled a tender shoot,

And a rabbit nibbled under my root…

Oh, I was happy in rain and shine

As I thought of the destiny that was mine!

Then a man with an axe came cruising by

And I knew that my fate was to fall and die.

“With a hundred others he packed me tight,

And we drove to a magic city of light,

To an avenue lined with Christmas trees,

And I thought: may be I’ll be one of these,

Tinselled with silver and tricked with gold,

A lovely sight for a child to behold;

A-glitter with lights of every hue,

Ruby and emerald, orange and blue,

And kiddies dancing, with shrieks of glee –

One might fare worse than a Christmas tree.

“So they stood me up with a hundred more

In the blaze of a big department store;

But I thought of the forest dark and still,

And the dew and the snow and the heat and the chill,

And the soft chinook and the summer breeze,

And the dappled deer and the birds and the bees…

I was so homesick I wanted to cry,

But patient I waited for someone to buy.

And some said ‘Too big,’ and some ‘Too small,’

And some passed on saying nothing at all.

Then a little boy cried: Ma, buy that one,

’But she shook her head: ‘Too dear, my son.

”So the evening came, when they closed the store,

And I was left on the littered floor,

A tree unwanted, despised, unsold,

Thrown out at last in the alley cold.

”Then I said: “Don’t sorrow; at least you’ll be

A bright and beautiful New Year’s tree,

All shimmer and glimmer and glow and gleam,

A radiant sight like a fairy dream.

For there is a little child I know,

Who lives in poverty, want and woe;

Who lies abed from morn to night,

And never has known an hour’s delight…”

So I stood the tree at the foot of her bed:

“Santa’s a little late,” I said.

“Poor old chap! Snowbound on the way,

But he’s here at last, so let’s be gay.

”Then she woke from sleep and she saw you there,

And her eyes were love and her lips were prayer.

And her thin little arms were stretched to you

With a yearning joy that they never knew.

She woke from the darkest dark to see

Like a heavenly vision, that Christmas Tree.

Her mother despaired and feared the end,

But from that day she began to mend,

To play, to sing, to laugh with glee…

Bless you, O little Christmas Tree!

You died, but your life was not in vain:

You helped a child to forget her pain,

And let hope live in our hearts again.

by Robert William Service

[Lyd12 in reply to Donald_1931]

thanks so much Don, it is long but a touching story for Christmas. Hope you are keeping well. No easy for us this time of year. Roll on Spring and summer.love Iris x

[Donald_1931 in reply to Lyd12]

I know you have a problem with formatting on your new iPad, Iris, I'm always ready to help. Like you I'm having my ups and downs, the downs seem to get longer during the winter months. But we'll soon be on the right side of the shortest day. 😘x

[Lyd12 in reply to Donald_1931]

I do have two f my three sons living very close. How about you, do you have some company?

[Donald_1931 in reply to Lyd12]

I have my daughter living some 10 miles away who is single and doesn’t drive. She has numerous dogs and breeds and shows beagles. My niece, recently retired at 70, drives and cares for me when she’s not running around after her daughter and four grandchildren. Other than those two I am on my own with Puss 🐈‍⬛. I tend to be a grumpy old so-and-so these days and have turned down so many invitations that folk have long since stopped asking me. I’m happiest when left alone to be honest, Iris, especially at Christmas time. 😘

[Tykelady in reply to Donald_1931]

So many older people (like me and thee) have said that though they are grateful for the invitations they would really like to dispense with all the upheaval involved. Yet others thrive on it. However we spend our Christmas let it be right for us and our loved ones.

[Lyd12 in reply to Tykelady]

one of my daughters in law has tested positive for covid, yet she feels well. Not sure what we will do at Christmas this year. X

[RoadRunner44]

I love it, thanks for reminding me of it.Xx

[Alberta56]

Rather sentimental but touching. Thank you, iris. i hope you have as good a Christmas as possible with your lovely sons. xxx

[peege]

thank you as always Iris 😘😘

[Karenanne61]

That tugs at the heartstrings. 😪 Thankyou for sharing.