‘Coming Attractions (1994)’: A Poem by David Greenwood

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Coming Attractions (1994)

Black is white, white is black, two and two is three.
Put your common sense away, all you need is me.
I’m the soothing voice, the calming face on your TV.
Let me settle all your fears, all you need is me.
I’ll raise you up and train you right, I’ll be your family.
Turn your back on Mom and Dad, all you need is me.
Outdated rights must strain your brain, too much complexity.
Throw away those useless things, all you need is me.
You’ll live in peace, you’ll never want, in time you’ll learn to see
Our brave new world is better than the struggle to stay free.

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Haiku

hot wind stirs the flags
time checked as coffins go by
the slow boil begins

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David Greenwood is a lecturer in the Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies at Vanderbilt University. After taking his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, he has authored books with Cornell, Cambridge, and Routledge, numerous articles in theology, philosophy, and history, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2021. His poetry has been published in numerous venues, including The Lyric and WestWard Quarterly.