Nightly News
Patrick Wilcox
The anchor’s smile is a white picket fence
and the story of the three-legged dog
who was finally adopted is lifted
by its many strings out of screen
and in drops the story of the boy
shot through the chest in the city hidden
behind skyline and the skyline is lifted
by its many strings out of screen
and in drops the county fair
which will shoot through town
at the end of the suffocating season
and the story is us and we are lifted
by our many strings out of screen
and in drops autumn, in drops nightfall,
in drops a smile, one for each of us
driven into our gums like a white
picket fence. We are the sum
of our attention spans. The fair will last
all weekend. We are eager as a bullet.
