Always on, the ‘56 black and white Philco flickered promises
into crowded living rooms across America
A better tomorrow for working families
All it takes, stare hours at your TV screen
Let the subliminal messages do their work
Wishful thoughts, soaring away with Dinah Shore
You’re in the USA with a Chevrolet
What’s good for GM is good for America
In retrospect, we know better
Back then, what we bought was who we were
Many blamed TV for misdirecting youth
Bigger than life ideas filling their heads
Blame our Philco if you like
but there’s another side:
All those jobs in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, hanging
on whether folks bought the contraption
advertised during Phil Silvers Show
Diversion was our god, aided
by Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, the Marx Brothers
Making us laugh, rather than cry
as advertising created a nation of consumers
Having was how we found meaning
In another way, our Philcos, Zeniths
and GE TVs helped us get beyond
face-to-face sameness, filling
small towns across America
Hungry for new role models, TV provided them
For those growing up a long way
from New York City, Chicago, or Los Angeles
TV sets brought them closer
to the reality, soon changing us all
Perhaps we should be glad someone told us
even if it was Howdy Doody
Poetic Alchemist 
Dan: You have new contacts? Wow. You never told me. Now you have no excuse for not seeing the fine print…
Everthing is clear to me because my new contact lenses arrived….
Jel: Thanks. That’s true. Some say this is a good thing. I loved those shows growing up.
They don’t make shows like that any more 😦
have a great weekend and a safe one ! 😉
Paul: Thanks. So you were a 56 baby, along with our Philco.
TV was/is a potent force lifting us. It’s a tool and it’s up to us to use it to serve our goals. But you already know that.
Gautami: Thanks, and I will. Do both. Self-publish. It’s a dignified way to go. Look at Booksurge.com. If you self-publish, have some other poets review your work and provide you with feedback.
Aurora: I appreciate the follow-up comment. I really want to improve my poetry, which is why I asked. And you would know with your accomplishments in the poetry field. Thanks again.
Dan/Wally: Thanks. Everything is clear to you since you have a spotless mind…all that meditating and all.
Very well put. You really capture the essence.
I am trying hard for that poetry book. But no readers for poetry. Most publisher tell me to write fiction. May be I should consider that!
Do read my last post and you will know what I mean!
Interesting allusions – I was born in 56, so just missed being able to recall that earliest TV period.
Theoretically TV could have been such a potent force for lifting us up but it sure didn’t work out that way.
Don, it read very clearly. I think it’s excellent, not just for its message, but for its form.
Hey Beav,
Ha ha! I was gonna reply with something about Howdy Doody, and then, as i got to the end, there he was! Shoulda known.
Maybe I did….
Reads clearly.
Love,
Wally
Aurora: Thanks. Does it read clearly? There is a lot jammed into this one.
Very interesting socio-economic commentary, Don. I re-read this several times.
Floots: Thanks. There you go. Lone Ranger was one of my favorites as well. “Hiyo Silver, Away…”
this brought it all back
thanks don
i can still remember running home from scholl
knowing that our first tv had arrived
and i could watch the lone ranger