If we judge a poet's strength by their ability to write (good) lines that no one else would attempt/get away with, then John Prine is one of the greats.

The moon and stars hang out in bars just talkin'
I still love that picture of us walkin'
Just like that ol' house we thought was haunted
Summer's end came faster than we wanted

"Summer's End"

When you got hell to pay
Put the truth on layaway
And blame it on that ole' crazy bone

"Egg & Daughter Nite, Lincoln Nebraska, 1967 (Crazy Bone)"

I once had a family but they up and left me
With nothing but an 8-track, another side of George Jones
I was in high cotton, just a-bangin' on my six-string
A-kickin' at the trash can, walkin' skin and bone

"Knockin' on Your Screen Door"

Sometimes my ol' heart is like a washing machine
It bounces around 'til my soul comes clean
And when I'm clean and hung out to dry
I'm gonna make you laugh until you cry

"Boundless Love"

And then I'm gonna get a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale
Yeah, I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long
I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl
'Cause this old man is goin' to town

"When I Get to Heaven"

tl;dr the new album, THE TREE OF FORGIVENESS, is for real.