No one reads poetry

No one reads poetry,
except poets,
English Literature undergraduates,
and some academics.
(though these are mostly the same people)

No one reads poetry,
unless they have to,
or think they should
for their career.
(usually academic – sometimes journalistic)

If you follow a few rules,
show you understand,
you’re not a charlatan,
you know the form,
you can be a poet too.

You then acquire mystical powers,
and you are allowed to judge,
to evaluate and assess,
to stamp your approval,
and you realise
that’s what you wanted all along.