As the title of this blog suggests, I get great joy from writing a poem for someone who is convinced they will never like poetry.

The look on their face as their shoulders sink to the realisation that not all poetry is dull is a feeling I wish I could spread on my toast every morning.

One particular example that stands out in my mind is when I was working for the Poetry Takeaway at the Royal Three Counties Show in Malvern.

Along with three other poets, I sat under a gazebo in a field for two days tasked with writing poems for strangers in their breaks between looking at handcrafted wicker baskets and wellied-farmers parading their prize cows.

Around lunchtime on the Saturday, I got talking to a wardrobe of a man who confused our tent with a stall giving away free scones.

When I told him what we were up to, I watched his heart fall through his body and out of his backside.

He checked his watch and said, “I’ve got half an hour until my mates get here, might as well have a poem for my wife. It’s free, right?”

Despite how hard I tried to find out what made his wife of 25 years special, the man hit me with cliches like, “She’s kind” and “She’s a good mum” and “She’s a good cook”. All lovely thoughts, though tricky to spin into a unique poem.

But when I asked him where they lived, he gave me the gift of “We’re moving from our family home next month”.

BINGO!

We then had a relaxed five minute chat about the elaborate Christmas dinners his wife would host in their grand dining room, the mini football pitch she mowed into the garden for the kids, the apple tree she planted in the front garden.

He talked about how her creativity shone in the little ornamental touches, the water colour paintings she’d do on a Sunday, the vintage frames she’d go hunting for in charity shops.

When I felt like I had everything I needed, I urged him to grab a scone from next door while I scribbled a poem comparing his wife to a home he always dreamed of.

15 minutes later, after I read him his poem, the wet-eyed man shook my hand and thanked me for giving him something that will, “Definitely get me in the good books”.

Not convinced?

If you hate poetry and think I will never be able to change your mind, order a poem here for someone today and let me change your mind.