'Tis days after Christmas and still in the house
Stands a tree in the corner that no longer sprouts.
Stockings unhung, now the chimney is bare
And the tree needs undecorating and disposal, but where?

The children are busy outside with their sleds,
Or elsewhere with I-Tunes blaring through their heads,
While parents reach gently, avoiding tree sap,
To store each ornament for its long summer's nap.

The blizzard has passed, the winds have diminished
And outside there's still snow shoveling to finish.
Yet the tree must come down, its lights cease to flash,
But what can one do besides throw it in the trash?

With sun reflecting brightly off newly drifted snow
That shines from outside the living room window,
New visions pop into your head and you cheer,
"We don't have to make our tree disappear."

We can use it outside near where winter birds feed
And decorate it anew with suet and seed
So chickadees and titmouse and juncos can roost
While other feathered friends seek their seed-eating boost.

Our tree could block the unlikable view
Of the propane tank or trash can or generator that's new.
We could make it a surrogate, in a landscape hollow,
To illustrate the look of a new shrub to follow.

We could cut off boughs and place in a mound
Over perennials firmly frozen in the ground
To prevent them from sprouting up too fast
When early spring temperatures rise with a blast.

Then the branches, when taken from atop growing shoots,
Can head to the compost to give it a boost.
And the trunk doesn't have to give up the ghost
If we use it next spring as a birdhouse post.

Our Christmas tree doesn't need to end its use
In a brush pile or as municipal refuse.
We'll set an example. We'll use every part.
Let's make tree recycling a post-holiday art.

East Haddam and Haddam residents seeking to simply dispose of fresh-cut  trees can do so at each town's local transfer station. East Haddam's, on Route 149 (860-873-5030), and Haddam's, on Route 154 (860-345-2110), collect trees in brush piles. East Haddam eventually burns collected brush while Haddam  grinds brush into chips.