Taking Literature A Bit Seriously Poem by Stephen Wylie

On a long dark Russian winter's night,
Two men have settled in
To drink and set the world to rights.
They drink so much that it's a sin.

'Poetry is the only art! '
'No prose is! '
'Poetry! '
'Prose! '
Round and round it goes.

Too many bottles on the floor,
The debate's not friendly any more.
A flash of steel,
A spout of gore;
One ceases to feel,
The other to bore.

As the poet flees through winter's night,
With a heart that's sore,
He reflects that 'twas a cultured fight,
But his best friend is no more.