Chopped

A holiday poem, more talking to trees

Hi readers, this poem is the product of my daily writing practice, 12/9/25. It’s another “Easter egg” post in that I haven’t sent it to subscribers—and might not! There’s a little note at the end as to why and how this post is different than others. Thanks for reading!

Gorgeous display tree at The Dewberry Hotel, Charleston, SC (taken by me!)

Tree of whimsy,
tree of light,
forest home to life so bright!

They chopped you down
and dressed you up
in fake fungal shimmers
and ornamental birds.

If the other trees 
could see you now,
centerpiece of display
in a grand hotel—

the only real life here,
adorned and slowly dying—

what would they say? 

You look gorgeous,
but how atrocious,
being chopped at the knee, 
holding two truths, equally. 

Can you believe, 
your final weeks of life,
preserved in images and 
cocktail-moss memories?

In the forest,
you were just another tree. 
Here, you're royalty. 
Could life end more beautifully? 

The whole tree at the Dewberry Hotel, forest themed dying beauty

Absolutely gorgeous display, but aren’t our customs strange? Chop down a thriving tree; decorate it with fake forest creatures, ornamental balls, and lights; take photos, throw out dying tree…

Must we keep doing to others what has been done to us?

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If you’re new here, I’m a behavioral psychologist (specifically, a behavior analyst) who enjoys talking to trees, vocally and textually. Memoir, poetry, fiction…

But that’s not all I do.

Usually, I embed a behavioral theme or add some references to my posts, but today I’m changing things up.

In my eight months here, I’ve written a lot of notes that could be posts. Mostly haiku and poetry, but some flash fiction, too. The reasons are multifold — hand difference, fewer typos and spellcheck on phone, convenience — but the main one is that I don’t want to overwhelm readers with emails and notifications. But, so much of my writing is getting buried in notes. So, I was thinking I would drop in some shorter, unpolished posts from time to time and not send them out to subscribers (or send them later, to keep space between posts). Anyway, thanks for reading and being here while I figure it out.

Happy holidays, tree or no tree, real or fake.

Peace, love, and stimulus control,

Jennifer