Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Time for a bit of editorial bliss in the dVerse Pub ~ Punam has us thinking about "newspapers" ~ using them as inspiration for our poems. I decided to transport us back to the future! 

Image ~ Wikipedia



on 6th street corner where shadows gather
a teenage boy greets the dawn 
"Read All About It" he calls
his voice cuts through the morning air

today's headlines spill stories of war
the struggles that shape a generation
heroes emerging from tragedy
baseball legends headed for glory
movie stars shimmering on the silver screen

he carries the weight 
of the world in his arms 
each newspaper a promise
a thread in the fabric of history

in this moment he feels alive
the city's pulse thrums in his veins
dreams of a tomorrow
dance on the horizon

he has become part of
the stories he sells 




13 comments:

  1. he carries the weight
    of the world in his arms
    each newspaper a promise
    a thread in the fabric of history

    A wonderful poem, Helen. I loved this verse.

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  2. Dwight... It did not register my name.

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  3. “he has become part of
    the stories he sells”

    Love this! The channel/medium is an inalterable part of our lived experience of news. I still remember where I was and how I learned of the Challenger space shuttle explosi9n, for instance.

    It’s Kim of Glover Gardens, by the way. 🙂

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  4. that ending encapsulates the whole poem - so well written and a joy to read

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  5. "on 6th street corner where shadows gather
    a teenage boy greets the dawn"

    The shadows of the past, the shadows of history, the small boy himself a ghost in our memories...tales like this told in verse bring back everything in black and white, a world that was so different, not better, no no, just very different. How different it is now to press a button for all news...

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  6. PS that is my nom-de-guerre in Ukraine, 'tis I, Ain..

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  7. Indeed. I want to shout headlines sometimes... I wish I could.

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  8. My dad was a newspaperman, and so newspapers are still dear to my heart.

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  9. I love the thought of the newsboy selling paper which is something I have never seen actually... but we still get our dayly paper.

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  10. Your poem brings that sense of connection to life.

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  11. Helen, I love this. A wonderful ode to the paper boy. The opening lines and the last two lines capture it so well.

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  12. I love that you focussed on the purveyor of news Helen - a lost figure from history but folded into history by your poem...

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  13. I hear you, Helen, and love the nostalgia this engenders.
    Loved, loved, loved this stanza:
    "he carries the weight
    of the world in his arms
    each newspaper a promise
    a thread in the fabric of history"
    Wow.

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I appreciate each of you and the comments you leave ~~ thanks so much.