Memo To All Journos - Buzzwords

A poet's work [like journalists] is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, to start arguments, to shape the world and stop it from going to sleep. - Salman Rushdie Don’t think that you could EVER in a million years put a story to bed And do remember to get their ages 110% right even if it kills you dead The neighbour, age 18, saw the milkman, age 59, deliver the goods The postman, age 70, turned a blind eye and so would you have if in his boots Another struggle veteran, dead at 20, after the injustices and COVID he had to weather The herd immunity is bought by the sheeple, as they usually flock together Quoting a source out of context and deepfake photoshop send me around the bend. Cut-and-paste could land you in hot water if not fact-checked before you press SEND. The false news item during June 2021 regarding the decuplet birth in South Africa Damaged the credibility of the newspaper and he had to apologise for his faux pas Protocols of mask-up, washing hands and keeping a social distance are easy All this international data-sharing has made each of us a virologist—easy-peasy Peer review of your work draws many comments from wannabes, even if not in their remit Birds do it; billionaires do it; brownies will help you do it; the sky is the limit You must give your 110 percent, but my maths teacher is turning in his grave Top-up funding and tax-relieve to keep you from going under and bankruptcy to stave Running on empty as you can’t toe the line of your budget line, is the rub Don’t keep it bottled up; let it all hang out while the empty whisky bottles pile up PowerPoint presentations and playing the game won’t pass muster, however much you try Taking one for the team, but Olympic gold for our dream team is just a pie-in-the-sky Climate change is not the same as weather, whether you grasp that fact or not And the California dreamin’ boat had already sailed—it’s too bloody hot! The Chief Honcho ____________________ SIGNED 30 July 2021 PS He was too young to have been a ‘veteran’. PPS We know that he is dead, but the term is: ‘died/dies aged …’ You could show a bit of respect here, please. Buzzword Bingo Poetry Contest Sponsored by: John Anderson