My Proud Secret

Ever since my parents bought me a Grundig TV for my room, And every week day unquestioned and without fail, I've watched the Channel 4 News avidly, glued to it, From when I was ten when my ship did at last sail. I fell in love with Jon Snow instantly as a father figure, A socialist or social democratic who would interpret, Political and social events in a way that I understood, Without any superiority or cold, aloof mood. My best subject at university was marketing, Came top in my second year Easter class exam And everyday when I watched it I analysed Jon’s socks and ties, Until I was 17, I could predict to myself the next days dyes. This made me so happy and empowered me to continue, In that Christian fundamentalist world of criticism and guilt, But the C4 News was my little secret which I kept to myself, As I was taught not to love things like that, of a worldly, societal lilt. I was a devious child towards my parents and their religion, And lived by admitting only to liking that which I loved, So that they could have the satisfaction of disciplining me straight, But pass me by as someone who religion did very much hate. I had my own sequence, mathematical formula in my head, And the first day I got my television when the light was ahead, Because my dad used to monitor what I viewed with intense interest, I did not flip channels somedays, to suggest no deviation was in my head. And when Krishnan Guru-Murthy joined the show in 1998, (I had predicted it from his way at BBC news presenting); As he reported in Newsnight and BBC 24’s current events programme, And I thought he would compliment Jon Snow and for youth be an emblem. I'm hesitant to say that I used to be able to, Predict when he would grow a beard in playful discourse, But I knew that he would always shave it off again, ‘Cos that concerned, innocent face is not for recourse. I like Garry Gibbon, love Kathy Newman, Jackie Long and Matt Frei, And Paul Mason always gets to the roots of the economics issues; Lindsey Hilsum and Helia Ebrahimi give such good reports, And Geoff White always excites me with his technology eye.