The Old Box Poem by John Carter Brown

The Old Box



Whatever is on the old box
It don't matter,
Some people just sit there
Their eyes getting fatter;
Their brains being dulled
By the flickering screen,
By the adverts that urge them
To buy what they've seen;
They worship their telly
And won't move an inch;
If the house caught on fire
Well I doubt if they'd flinch.

It's a puzzle to me
How it has so much power
To keep people glued to it
Hour after hour;
Film upon film and then
Soap after soap,
With a life such as that
I don't think I could cope;
Like the old saying goes:
'They'll end up with square eyes; '
And to me it will be
No great loss, or surprise.

Some programmes can teach
I admit that it's true;
But of excellent ones
There are only a few;
Still, if children can learn
As they sit there and drool,
It's a start, 'cause they learn
Very little at school;
Had it not been invented
Not a soul would have cared;
But it was,
And the blame lies with John Logi Baird.

Written Jan 1995

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
I was bored with T.V. at the time... obviously!
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Ellias Anderson Jr. 22 November 2012

you teach us john within your brilliant words in this excellent work. so meaningful and beautiful. i like the parts: Some programmes can teach I admit that it's true; But of excellent ones There are only a few (these lines have lots of things to say. i agree with you john. well done.

1 0 Reply
Smoky Hoss 31 October 2012

Another fine one John! I'm in complete agreement here... well stated!

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