WHATEVER HAPPENED TO POETRY?

Listening to the Proms
Tuesday night -
In the interval
There was a "poetry" reading
Or so it was advertised.
I listened intently
Hoping to learn something -
But I came away thinking;
Is this what they call poetry?
It doesn't rhyme.
It doesn't scan.
It doesn't have a regular metre of any kind -
Just like this…
It's simply disjointed narrative.
They also seem to think that
Saying "does not"
Instead of "doesn't"
etcetera
Makes it sound more important,
And the audience applauds politely
At the end of every heavily laboured work.

Excuse me?
Have I missed something?

If this is "poetry"
What have I been writing
For the last 25 years?
In fact
Why am I bothering at all?
I could just spout stuff like this
And maybe people will start listening to me at last!

A slightly peeved Elwood Herring © August 2002