We deck the trees in color
to reminds us of joy when darkness comes.
No need,
says the land, garlanded in winter fruits.
But we didn’t come to listen,
did we?
![a branch with two red berries in the foreground, with snow and trees in the background](http://kilowattproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/winter-fruits-scaled.jpg)
Every year the dog walkers decorate the park for Christmas, and it’s always such a happy sight this time of year, when the sun sets at 4:15 and there’s so much gray in the world. But on this walk, I noticed these bright berries not two feet from a decorated tree, and they were as bright as anything that was strung there. It made me pause.
And then I laughed, because one of the ornaments was a pine cone. Hung on a pine tree. With red yarn. That’s humans for you.