I Heard The News Today, Oh Boy
I note, fascinated, that
TV prophets cheerfully tender
the day’s torments,
as though yesterday left no scars,
no rusty bloodstains on the streets
of Kabul.
The sun has been swept under
a cement cloud.
Why chance a morning walk
when crawling will do?
© 2011 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sunday Whirl words are in BOLD. Try Brenda’s Wordles – they are fascinating!
Also on Poets United, my poetic collective home.
Sharp Little Pencil 
kaykuala
Amy, a nice little roll that went with it when read aloud. Beautiful poem!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Hank. Yes, I read all poems aloud. It used to be the norm, that folks in families would recite poetry or read aloud from books… Glad it worked for you! Amy
Mike Patrick
So perceptive. Forget yesterday’s scars for the scars we reap today. Shorten the collective memory, so we can repeat yesterday’s mistakes. Is it getting worse, or does it just seem that way because media burns our new wounds into our brains so quickly?
Isn’t the title from a Beatles song? “Strange Fruit” might better keep in your genre and be just as accurate.
Sharp Little Pencil
The title is the first line of “A Day In The Life,” yes, Mike. Oh, I never go to “Strange Fruit,” because it’s too historically laden with one particular meaning, but it’s a good thought!
Your perception about the media and our lives is right on. The media is strictly “if it bleeds, it leads,” but not so for the one or two a day we lose in the Middle East. Now, a huge helicopter crash, that will generate lots of ink… so sad.
Debbie
Oh Amy . . .this is so good. It’s like you wrote it first and then Brenda picked the words out of your poem. 🙂 Thank you for sharing, teaching and inspiring!
Sharp Little Pencil
Why, thanks, Debbie. It’s really the other way around, and Brenda makes it all so much fun, even when the poem turns out sort of grim…! A
mish
This is my first visit to your blog Amy ! A lovely take on the Wordle prompt … and thanks for popping in and leaving a comment at my interview on Victoria’s blog ! I really appreciate it .
Sharp Little Pencil
Hey, Mish, glad you stopped by! I don’t think I’m the “dreedling” type, but others who read my blog should click on Mish’s link and give it a try! Peace, Amy
Leif G.S. Notae
Very nice, I like the words dancing through here. You wove them in well.
The topic is great, it’s an area one can’t get away from if they pay attention to the news. Of course, the first thing to d is to not pay attention. I’ve had my TV unplugged for months now and the only reason I’ll plug it back in is for something special (End of the world, aliens, I win an award).
Great piece Amy, thanks for sharing!
Sharp Little Pencil
Ha! Aliens? You want ALIENS? Ain’t your heard ’bout those damn illegals from south o’ the border, come up here, steelin are jobs and are wimmin and… Boy, farmers in states where hiring undocumented immigrants is illegal are really pissed right now… it’s harvest time!! Satirically yours, Amy
Traci B
So true, Amy. It always amazes me how broadcasters can swiftly switch gears from somber news to fluff pieces, sports and weather with little more than a pause – most likely engineered by their teleprompter scripts – to indicate their acknowledgement of how sad or shocking the previous report was.
Well wordled.
Sharp Little Pencil
Yes, well, reporters are now “personalities,” not actual journalists. How they look trumps their knowledge of what they are reading off the teleprompter. Edward R. Murrow is turning in his grave!
Thanks, Traci. Amy
booguloo
Then they twist the dead heroes feelings by saying they would want us to continue. How the hell do they know? They must have a medium working for Uncle Sam.
Sharp Little Pencil
Oh, I am in complete agreement here, Mike. This war MUST END. I don’t care who started it or why (actually I do, but I’ll leave that for another poem), but Pres. Obama must end it. The obscene amounts of money we are giving the military to create bombs to… AARGH! Amy
Mama Zen
Outstanding! What a great use of the wordle.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, “Mama”! I love wordling. It’s like crossword puzzling, only with your own input and the outcomes of all on display! Amy
Kim Nelson
Oooh, Amy!
Amazing how you created the perfect political statement, relevant to the day’s news, from words another cobbled together. You are good!
Sharp Little Pencil
Kim, believe me, if Brenda was not so good at picking the Wordles, I’m not sure the result would be as satisfying, but I do thank you. And man, do we do politics here!! Amy
Sherry Blue Sky
Ha! I love this! Amazing how upbeat the announcers remain, given the gloom and doom. I especially love “as though yesterday left no scars….no rusty bloodstains on the streets of Kabul.” Great writing, Amy!
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Sherry… they aren’t real journalists anymore, just talking heads. I appreciate your citing parts of the poem you liked most. That really helps me! xo Amy
Kelly
Ah, so true and sad. I like how you used tender as a verb, and the last two stanzas are awesome.
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks, Kelly! When I write down the Wordle prompts, as well as Three Word Wednesday, I put parentheses around those words that could work as either a verb or noun. Makes it easier for me to sort out.
The last two lines were the first lines I wrote. In fact, I wrote the whole thing sort of backwards and patched it together, like a quilt! Amy
Donna Kiser
Such eloquence for the tragic world. Lovely.
dk
Sharp Little Pencil
Thank you so much, Donna, for your thoughtful comment. Peace, Amy
Jennifer Jackson
I loved the ending to this. And sometimes reporters do seem a little too unfazed by stuff…
Wonder if they’re cyborgs or something…
Sharp Little Pencil
They are talking heads. Soon, they will be avatars. It’s really the same thing – they read whatever Rupert Murdoch or Sumner Redstone say should be put on the teleprompter. Gone are the days of actual journalists doing the news… Thanks, Jennifer! Amy
contemplativemoorings
Newscasts these days almost seem a mockery of the real world…I can hardly watch them anymore…
Sharp Little Pencil
Once the qualification of “journalist,” which required ethics, a degree, and a modicum of brains beyond the teleprompter was dropped, we were left with talking heads. A
brenda w
Amy, I’ve notice the same thing on the news…. Nobody gives a crap about people dying when Casey Anthony is on trial, or Republicans (insert tongue in cheek) are surfacing in U.S. presidential elections. It saddens me how easily we allow ourselves to be diverted from ugliness. Great poem.
Interesting idea to sort the words by part of speech… I always try to put in a couple of words with mulitple meanings/functions. I love your use of tender as a verb.
Sharp Little Pencil
Brenda, great critique by someone I truly respect. Thank you for this. I am inspired by your Wordles and will post mine tonight! Bless you, Amy