"The only thing i ever wanted to do in life was become a poet. I can't even tell people about writing poetry without getting hit with "oh ok, that's nice" or just immediately having the topic change. "

Dude, that's common. That's the standard response every artist gets when their art isn't paying a living wage. You're supposed to just ignore it. It's that typical.

And really your poetry is needed to keep you going. Without that interest its just drudgery work.