A celebrated poet hectored me

            For misinterpreting his lines

 

            “You missed the point” he argued

 

            I replied “Which one?”

            And then went on to ask

            The eminence

            Before he signed his book

            To dedicate it to the

            Reader who would take the time

            To savour every seasoned word and phrase

            Until they carried him or her

            Wherever the unhurried taste allowed

 

            Unless, of course,

            He wanted us to chew on

            Nails