Traditionally I have viewed most poetry as the literary equivilant of the flute; capable of expressing only the most shallow of human emotions. Thankfully there are more exceptions to that rule when applied to poetry than to the flute...
A couple gems from my favorite poet, Pam Ayres:
In Favour Of Pushing Your Car Over A Cliff And Buying A Bike...
I am a mighty Garage,
On the corner of the Square,
And it is all my pleasure,
To provide a quick repair,
Or I can do your service,
In the blinking of an eye,
I wouldn't say it's thorough,
But it'll get you by.
If you break down, we might tow you in,
I suppose that's what we're for,
Despite the astronomic bill,
It's still a bloody chore,
We'll glare beneath your bonnet,
And we'll reel it off so pat,
Did you know that needs replacing'?
And that? And that? And that?
Or we might buy your little car,
For half of what it's worth,
After we've convinced you,
It's got every fault on earth,
But pass me by and presto!
In the window it'll be,
As Clean! One Owner! Spotless!
And the price tag that you see,
Will bear no fond resemblance,
To the price in our demands,
When we said how much we'd give you
Just to take it off your hands,
The price will strangely rocket.
And the things we said were wrong,
Without help from the mechanics
Are conveniently gone!
But when the next poor muggins
He comes looking for a car,
And asks a few odd questions,
They won't get him very far,
We don't say the sub-frame's rotten
Or the whining from the rear,
Is out of the back axle,
And not ringing in his ear.
For I'm such a busy garage,
And my memory is short,
I don't want people trusting me,
Or troubles of that sort,
We don't want you dissenters,
Butting into our sales pitch,
We just sit here, on the corner,
Growing big. And fat. And rich
Like You Would
Well I got up in the morning,
Like you would.
And I cooked a bit of breakfast,
Like you would
But at the door I stopped.
For a message had been dropped,
And I picked it up, and read it,
Like you would.
"Oh Blimey!" I said,
Like you would,
"Have a read of this,
This is good!"
It said: "I live across the way,
And admire you every day,
And my heart, it breaks without you."
Well, it would.
It said: "I'd buy you furs and jewels,
If I could,"
And I go along with that,
I think he should,
It said: "Meet me in the Park,
When it's good and dark,
And so me wife won't see,
I'll wear a hood."
Oh, I blushed with shame and horror,
Like you would,
That a man would ask me that,
As if I could!
So I wrote him back a letter,
Saying "No, I think it's better,
If I meet you in the Rose and Crown,
Like we did last Thursday."