I don’t mix with poets,
They’re so boring.
I don’t mix with poets,
They’re too self-adoring.
I mix with drunk Magpies,
I mix with no lies,
I mix with a bit on The Side.
I don’t mix with poets,
They’re parasitic.
I don’t mix with poets,
They’re soporific.
I mix with nice girls,
I mix with dumb animals,
I mix with wild birds on The Wall.
I don’t mix with poets,
They’re stand-offish.
I don’t mix with poets,
They’re too foppish.
I mix with my fantasies,
I mix with realities,
I mix with the maids of the seas.
I don’t mix with poets,
They’re just sycophants.
I don’t mix with poets,
They get Arts Council grants!
Keith Armstrong
Commissioned by BBC Radio Newcastle for National Poetry Day 2002
