teen magazine came out in the late sixties
my mother bought it for my sister and I
every cover featured a blonde girl with blue eyes
she looked l like she surfed in California
Inside there were ads, ads, ads, ads, ads and ads.
It was a slick magazine with lots of glossy pages.
the items they sold looked enticing and necessary.
We did not have the money to buy any of this.
There were a couple of stories, and maybe a comic or two.
But the ads were the kicker.
They showed us things we never hoped to be able to purchase.
After a while, we lost our enthusiasm for this magazine.
people magazine
i used to know everyone
but how times have changed
Al Jaffee
He is missed MADly.
A rascal at heart,
smiles to impart.
the photographer gasped when he saw Mirra
Her makeup was exquisitely done
lace chiffon gown was a vision
elegant hair piece was perfect
best of all she retained girl-next-door quality
teen magazine was popular in 1965 when I was thirteen
mom had Better Homes and Garden, Redbook and Women’s Day.
it was only right that my identical twin and I would have Teen.
mom’s magazines were about housekeeping; ours were about fashion.
we all wanted to grow up and become Sally Field or Tina Turner.
the Beatles shocked our parents on the Ed Sullivan Show.
folk singer mama cass’s voice and looks were known to all of us.
we were listening to the Beach Boys sing about California girls.
Los Angeles teen movie stars showed off mop-tops and Twiggy cuts.
daisies and yellow happy faces were sprinkled lavishly throughout.
subtle hints were showing us what to wear.
hip huggers and bell bottoms were in; plaids were out.
teen Magazine teamed up with Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.
together they taught us a bunch of dance moves.
the Loco-motion, watusi and smashed potato to name three.
our super models were Twiggy and we loved Sonny and Cher.
.
now we knew how to dress, how to dance and what to eat.
our favorite teens were advertising things we needed to be groovy.
we were eager to follow their lead, not having our own identity yet.
Magazine Madame measures mammoth mackerels
Manipulating measurements, marking misguided memos
Momentous mistakes moves and muffles meager mackerels
Manufactured mutilated memo mystifies many, milking money
Magazine magistrate Marine Morey measures mackerels
Making meticulous memories, mimicking Magazine Madame
One of the first magazines for females was Black Cat Magazine
Probably put out by Wiccans from Salem
No wait
Boston press
Maybe it was still from Salem women
I see the cover and I smile
Black cats have had such a long history
As women’s familiars
Beginning in Ancient Egypt with Isis
Such a wonderful sight
A horse going into flight
Captured in a lens
Documenting by the writer's pen
For once a horse was used for war
And now has a prescence of peace with a score
May we continue the beauty of a horse show
Snickering at others athletic events saying 'what do you really know"
You see it is the beauty of a horse that can never cease
With its artistic message reminding us all of the word peace
Marc O'Brien Author/Poet
I used to love People Magazine
Which may be why I am still getting it
Delivered to my house thirty years later
I stare at the strangers on the cover
Flip through pages about people I do not know
I want a specialized magazine
We will call it Old People Magazine
It will feature people I know
Cher, Tina Turner, Eddie Murphy
But if we named it Old People Magazine
Would I be the only subscriber?
Probably.
Better name it
Sassy Seasoned Stars
or Crones and Codgers
magazine cover
lovely beautiful turkey
painted but uncooked
Everyone wears tuxes and evening gowns
on the beach
and high heeled shoes
or highly polished winged tips
in magazines, anyway, the beautiful people.
Can you imagine walking or even trying
to walk in sand in high-heeled shoes?
Or how extra pretty your long dress
will look after it gets into wet sand?
Here they are. The ultra rich
on the cover of a prominent magazine
flaunting their evening gowns and high heels
in a beach on the sand.
This reminds me of something my cousin
told me once. You know those turkeys
on magazine covers that you look at
around Thanksgivings time?
They look perfect!
We can never get ours to look the same.
Okay. Here is the rub. Those turkeys are
PAINTED. They are RAW. Did not know that did you?
Sometimes what we see is not what is real at all.
Why!
It was a picture I had seen in an old magazine on a rack
in the second hand store. The magazine felt brittle and
smelled musty but the picture held my eyes captive.
A group of Jewish women (or so I suspect) in black
and white stripes. Stitched on, was a faded yellow star.
Each one alike; each one with ashen heads cast down;
bewildered and standing in frozen snow.
I didn't know them
yet-
I knew them.
eyes crying out to me
and asking why.
Designer shoe ads
Magazine ridiculous
Overpriced items
Movie stars can afford them
Regular people cannot
Exorbitant price
Two thousand dollar blouses
Dresses? Do not ask
Money I will never have
Magazine ridiculous
Magazines with gorgeous people come to our house consistently.
We have six grandchildren who attend a private school.
They have a magazine-selling quota and we used to try to help them meet it.
Magazines line our hallways, are stacked on top of the refrigerator, and surround our TVS.
And we have nineteen TVs.
There are magazines under our pillows, under our mattress, and between the box springs.
They have replaced the platform that we used to use to hold the bed up.
We do not read them.
We used to try, but discovered they are rather boring
As we do not know any of these gorgeous people on the covers.
Except Oprah.
I do know Oprah.
We are avidly watching Nick at Night
And old Carol Burnett TV shows and John Wayne movies.
We know them too.
Watching them is in vain tonight, as our eyes keep wandering to the little black cocker spaniel puppy
Who keeps slipping and sliding on magazines as she tries to get to her recliner.
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