on the various usefulnesses of trees

Come, carpenter, and make for me

A fine thing from an English tree;

A coffin from the wych elm, or

A rolling pin from sycamore,

Or blocks and stamps for butter patting;

Lime for blocks for felted hatting.

From conker trees, whose wood is white

A milk pail would be thought just right;

But from the ash (so profligate

its uses are) I’ve time to state

Just Morris Travellers, aeroplanes,

Policemen’s truncheons, hop field frames,

Hockey sticks and lifeboat oars,

And fork handles (not candles four).

The willow gives us cricket bats

And elevates the bearskin hat;

Alder for your piles and clogs;

Walnut branch for beating dogs.

Don’t dance around the maple tree

but steal its syrup stealthily.

And if this list’s too much for you

get MDF from B&Q

this is a found poem, in the sense that I found it when I was tidying up the not-yet-finished ones on my computer. I'd completely forgotten it. So here it is. I got the uses of the trees from my SR Badmin Puffin book of trees, which id put a picture of too. If I could find it.