the madman

i don’t want money for my poems

i want money for food

it’s your poems i’m talking about

not sex, you fool

sex can be had for sex

but poems can’t be given for free

they must be sold for money

exchanged for a fee

you speak with conviction sir

and are certainly hard to refute

but if i started charging for my poems

won’t i be called a prostitute?

no i’m afraid once again

you’re confusing your passions

while in one case you must be honest

in the other, to be promiscuous, is the fashion

so pimp your poems, auction them off

as you can, peddle them to as many

parade them naked on a stage

and sell them for money

but be careful when sleeping around

for anything but serial monogamy

will bring upon you nothing

but scandalous infamy

and i'll let you in on a secret

stick to non-penetrative sex

for the non-negative will only

create bonds unnecessarily intense

so this way you can stay aloof

write poetry and be free to roam

right then, coming back to the point

how much do you want for your poems?