"Wrong Platform"

Here I am at 'Platform One'
Entertainment poetry fun
Serious poets with a headline spot
So much more talent than I have got.
Make it seem easy
Without any stutter
But those kids at the back
Mutter, mutter, mutter!
Giving it your best Paddington Bear
Looks could kill with your glare.
Small crowd boosted by
An eighteenth birthday group
What were they hoping for?
A noisy holler and a whoop?
Maybe they thought poetry was rap
Not expecting fuddy duddy
Old white man 'crap'.
They had no linguistic taste
Not even leaving a bit shamefaced
Leaving less than halfway through
They really never had a clue.
At least they weren't constant talkers
But oh that munching on bags of Walkers!
Not the best place to celebrate
Coming of age
What made them think
Poetry was all the rage?
At least their night couldn't get worse
After the initial nightmare
Of a basement of verse!

Dulwich Poet 9th November 2013

(I went to the 'Platform One' poetry gig at the Poetry Cafe, the first time I'd been to that night. Also there for the first time, was a group of about 20 teenagers, who were out on an 18th birthday celebration, including big cake. Not sure what they were exepcting...but it certainly wasn't poetry. For the part they stayed for, before walking out, they were on their mobiles texting, loudly munching on crisps...which I actually found quite funny, as the older 'serious' poetry crowd in the front of the room, were getting annoyed by their background munching. Their annoyance added to the 'fun' for me! Though I wasn't complaining when they left...)