The Last Hurrah of An Idiot Box

Call it a requiem, dirge or elegy, Lament, funeral song of eulogy, On failing, dying light and last hurrah, Maybe the last polite vah vah! Once, a focal point of a family, A device that brought it close together, That not ere long a radio used to be, Family fulcrum, pivot or tether! Ere, youngsters were hooked to open-air games, Later on replaced by digital ones That made the able-bodied walking lames, Each hooked on to a personal brand of funs. Time was when the centre of gravity Was food and frolics on a dining table, That the Idiot Box had usurped; pity That meal was munched with the fair served on cable! One would recall, when ads for condoms came, When sanitary naps ads became bold In front of whole family, shorn of shame, Children looked down on food plates, feeling cold. Later on when times changed, unlike the old, Children would look like: we-know-it-all-cool, You were the prime piece of estate to hold, You made, TV, an incredible pull. The changing times then took a giant’s stride When entertainment was no more social, But more and more individual, personal, You no more were, well, a newly-wed bride. No doubt you too tried to be somewhat smart, Yet, failed to compete with PCs and phones That grew smarter, closer to users’ heart, What can be done when changing times change tunes? Today you’re far from your olden glory, You try your hard to imitate smart phones, Follow trodden treads, eyes tired and bleary, O social outcast that house-corners owns! Just one tap ah varied channels to change, Enlarge a visual, or volume in mind, One can command things of a varied range, Alas, future does not seem to you so kind. O pale shadow of your olden grandeur, You no more are than a mere magnifier. __________________________________________ Requiem |01.11.2021| elegy Poet’s note: It may still be rather too early, but good old Idiot Box is on the way out. Here’s a requiem, maybe writ rather too early.