Surveillance, Twenty Twenty
I never thought I’d live to see
my TV looking back at me!
One Nation, Divisible
How long have I heard about
______their lies?
How they weaponize and
______polarize?
How they demonize and
______patronize?
How quickly now I can
______recognize
And how very much I do
______despise
The laundered brains of the
______other guys!
The Coarsest Thread
We are indeed a tapestry,
all woven by the Hand Divine.
These brilliant threads right next to me,
My job it is to make them shine.
Joe Tessitore is a retired New York City resident and poet.
Joe, I laughed out loud when I read the first poem. Nice work! Mark
Joe –
Both clever and sharp, as always!
Thank you both, very much.
Thank you both, very much.
Thanks Joe for these witty pieces.
Years ago, the cumbersome, bulbous-belly, phospher-screened, cathode rays tube TV was called ’the one-eyed god in the corner’.
As time went on, we got the flat screens like picture frames called ‘black mirrors’.
Both allude to the watcher being observed. The reality was that it was the watcher watching. Only our willing participation in (hand-written) market research gave away our watching habits or personal information.
Now we have the two-way mirror in the room or on our wrists or in our pockets and bags.
And your couplet also alludes to recordings of our lives thrown at us as news or entertainment.
And all with 20/20 clear, digital vision.
A lot in that neat pack.
Great parallel structure on the second one revolving around ‘How’. Expectation that is deviated from. A mainstay of comedy (he he).
Is there a typo in the last poem, the cap M at the beginning?
Or an intimation that the speaker is God or a minor One?
Not sure of the mood of the last poem.
The capital M is indeed a typo.
The mood of the last one for me is inspirational.
I’ve been blessed lately by the company of two professional ballerinas that attend our Church.
In addition to being remarkably talented and dedicated to their art, they are young women of profound faith, and it’s a thrill for me to be around them.
I guess, in a way, it’s like seeing Creation at its best.
Harsh truth meets wit in topical poetry that says everything with a wry smile. Wonderful!
Thank you Susan, very much!