The Cleverest Man in the World

The cleverest man in the world
Is not me or anyone I know.
The cleverest man in the world
Might spend his time
Writing poems such as:
Zeus at the End of the Garden,
Or, A Houseful of Clocks.

The latter might be selected
To represent the genre
In a much-lauded
International anthology.

The cleverest man in the world
Might be the person behind you,
In the queue for a till,
Looking over your shoulder
Working all hours,
Monday to Sunday,
Peering into a room
To check on sleeping children,
Cooking a lasagne,
Feeding a starving cat.

The cleverest man in the world
Might make no claims
And may be prone
To forgetting his umbrella,
Leaving the sunroof open,
Leaning on wet paint,
Thinking up half a poem.