The Third Night Of The Year

I haven't put up Christmas decorations in years, but every year I do put the Christmas cards I get on my altar.  They look so warm and bright when a candle is burning alongside the Buddha.

Tonight I took them all down, and now the altar looks empty. I saved some, tossed others in the recycling. The room looks a little more forlorn now.

Then I looked out the window at the soggy winter raindrops hissing their way along the cold sidewalk. Across the street there's a few dead Christmas trees lined up on the curb, rainwater dripping through the sideways branches.

They just look sad.