Not at all cynical

I think I'll give up

 

Well he certainly doesn't seem to like poetry

 

It does seem a rather cynical poem for a poet - if that makes sense.

Maybe it's aimed at 'off the shelf' poets like me

 

Well, everyone's got to start somewhere, right?

But your right, he may not be aiming at poetry as a whole (although it rather seems like he is).

 

It's actually the opposite Bob: He actually loves poetry. Good poetry. Genuine poetry.
He appears to be complaining about all the bad, superficial, over-sentimental, lazy
poetry. He's challenging you to dig a bit deeper into yourself and find your genuine
material; challenging you to up your game in terms of poetry craft. Well, that's the
takeaway I get.