This Poetry Pairing features "Christmas Tree Lots" by Chris Green and the article "If a Tree Falls in the Den ..." by Bob Tedeschi. The author of three books of poetry, Chris Green recently edited the anthology "Brute Neighbors: Urban Nature Poetry, Prose & Photography." Christmas Tree Lots By Chris Green Christmas trees lined like war refugees, a fallen army made to stand in their greens. Cut down at the foot, on their last leg, they pull themselves up, arms raised. We drop them like wood; tied, they are driven through the streets, dragged through the door, cornered in a room, given a single blanket, only water to drink, surrounded by joy. Forced to wear a gaudy gold star, to surrender their pride, they do their best to look alive. Bob Tedeschi writes about his annual frustrations with Christmas trees and rounds up experts to help him in "If a Tree Falls in the Den ..." ... Back home, I steeled myself for battle. I began by slicing a thin slab from the bottom of the trunk, and trimmed a few lower boughs to accommodate a stand. The trunk was slightly too wide for the Omega stand, so I grabbed the Krinner Christmas Tree Genie and stood it on a waterproof mat. After carrying the tree inside, I centered it on the Genie and straightened it without worrying that it might scrape the ceiling. My son Luca, who is 11, cranked the foot pedal and then stepped back for a look. "That's it," he said. What do you mean that's it? It's straight. From every side? Yup. He cranked the foot pedal once more to tighten the brackets. I tried to tip the tree over and couldn't. "Not possible," I said. Evidently, it was possible for a Christmas tree not to tip over. The stand's dimensions did not leave room for the Santa's Solution automatic watering system I had picked up, but no matter. It's the first Christmas tree in memory that didn't make me bleed for its sacrifice. If I have to get down on my hands and knees to feed it some water every day, I'll consider it an act of worship. "Christmas Tree Lots" appears in the December 2001 issue of Poetry.