TELL THE CHILDREN

dont be a poet

i tell the children

or BE a poet

but youll have to put your balls on the page
where
they get caught by staples

so dont be a poet
be an earner instead
cos theres no money here

or BE a poet

if you can be mad and wrong
and write down the truths
that
a
year or two later
can still shake you
in
another
typing morning
sending your words across the world
in the hope theyll meet paper

we need poets

i tell the children

but it doesnt have to be your job

or BE a poet

i tell them/cos every job finds its man

and if the world burns your edges
like paper thrown in the fire
and the contents or your bathroom cabinet
can
fascinate you
for
a
lost hour
and
nothing that bubbles in the clock ticking surf
is
concrete unless you hold it tight
or
write
its
madness down in bursts like epilepsy

then
be
a
poet
and catch your balls in the staples