Ugliest of Trees, the Ficus Now

[Pilgrim]

I’ve been a devotee of Mr. Housman for as long as I can remember. Alas, I just couldn’t resist this attempt at parody of his poem Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now.

Ugliest of Trees, the Ficus Now.

Ugliest of trees, the ficus now
Is hung with blight on every bough,
Especially those on Woodlands Drive
Which look as though they won’t survive.

Now, in my sixty years and eight,
I’ve kept a list of things I hate,
And those I’ve listed from the first,
Include the tree that Jesus cursed.

And since those ficus trees in blight
Are not a very pretty sight,
I think I’ll take a trip to town
And buy an axe, and chop them down.

[Catcherin]

Ahahaha, love it. Last line makes it but I enjoyed the whole thing

[Heartafire]

I enjoyed this so much. I have had several Ficus, they are huge with enormous root systems and before long take over the entire yard
and become the bane of one's existence. Even when cut down the roots continue to work their way up...You can tell I feel very strongly about this ;-)! A fun poem indeed.

[rowens]

Again with The Little Prince references, Heartafire.

[Leanne]

It is a dreadful thing, such disfiggering.

The parody is beautifully done and, in the spirit of all good parodies, actually shows quite a lot of reverence for the original poem. Most enjoyable!