All Crushed

Was round about the 60's
And I a budding teen
Was influenced and touched
By a program I had seen

Rod Sterling was the narrator
Of a series quite well known
With weekly visits to a world
Named the "Twilight Zone"

And to this day one episode
The best without debate
Has taught me 'bout the frailty
Of Man against his fate

A short meek man from Queens, New York
Henpecked by his wife
Found his joy in reading books
To assuage a bit his strife

Voracious was his appetite for 
Tomes and all that's written
Yet blind without his glasses
He's as docile as a kitten

In the vault under his bank one day
While making a transaction
The world above was subject to
A nuclear reaction!

When he surfaced to the top
To view the mass destruction
He found that only he'd survived 
And came to this deduction

No wife! No rules! No one to shriek 
Or tell him what to do!
Only stacks and shelves of books
To read, peruse and view		

Paperbacks and hardcover
Pamphlets, primers, scrolls
The whole damn New York Library
With him at the controls!

Then as he pictured life 
In a world with voices hushed
He bent his head to grab a book
His glasses broke..........................
                                                    All crushed.............
Copyright © | Year Posted 2011

Poem

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Brown Avatar
July 18, 2012 at 8:37 AM
Congratulations on your poem making it through round one of the PoetrySoup International Poetry Contest. I wish you the best in the finals Michelle. Love, Carol
Brown Avatar
January 4, 2012 at 11:22 AM
Congratulations on making it through the 1st round of PoetrySoup International Contest. Wishing you the best in the finals Michelle. Love, Carol
Austin Avatar
November 29, 2011 at 3:00 PM
Boy, does this date you, Michelle! I saw that program too, about 50 years ago. I agree, it was one of the best in the series. Congrats on the selection. Old Dave
Lacey Avatar
July 20, 2011 at 4:22 PM
sorry about the broken glasses! great poem
Prital Avatar
July 13, 2011 at 4:09 AM
To all who are reading: The narrator's name was Rod Serling, and not Sterling; my error! Enjoy!
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