I'm sometimes asked with feigned surprise, "You write poetry?" "How Divine! Give us a sample of your favorite rhyme!"
But I know what they're thinking. I see it in their eyes, "What a waste of time." "What a joke." "Better hide the silver, cuz these types are all broke."
Poetry doesn't pay the bills. That part is so true. But, don't deride my compulsion, or my next hundred verses will be about "you!"