new for old

periwinkels

twinkle

new shades of blue

yet who should parade into my

springtime path

but a cranky browed bee

bernie

grumbled buzz the bumble

i have canceled my subscription

to the washingly post

but buzz

i protested

you are the original collector

of newspaperly nectar

i was

said buzz

but then i started seeing

the same old words

day after day

 

they change

the names

the dates

the numbers

but they never change

the verbs

and as pete hamil

said

news is a verb

i am shot through

to the bone

with words like

spurred

prompted

sparked

spawned

urged

plunged

impacted

underscored

launched

allowed

clashed

not to mention

the words of the

big headline type

axes

ties

blasts

vows

lauds

rails

rips

hails

they are shorter

but no better

this malaise has

spread beyond verbs

too

continued buzz

massive

missive

closure

perameter

affordable

allowable

potentially

initially

possible

just the other day

i agreed

the washingly post

had a story about

speed bumps

in my neighborhood

the newspaper said

to watch out

for the quote

controversial obstacles

unquote

better to

call it what it

is

a bump in the road

a lump on baby

asphalt s bottom

buzz shook his head

bernie my friend

he said

words give life

to ideas

they are the

pollen of news

they are the magic

not the lug nuts

words simmer and shimmer and sing

they should not grow fat

and flabby

and old

take it from an old nectar collector

now see that peach blossom

over there

buzz asked

and boss

before i could even answer

he was off

to the trough of sweetness

where he would suck up

the latest buzz

to pass around to his fellows

the peach tree was blooming

and though tis

bloomed a hundred times before

the real thrill this year

same as last

is that it all is so new

-- bernie