Thirteen ways of looking at the news – by Helga Jermy
ISLAND | ONLINE ONLY
(after Wallace Stevens)
I.
news comes in ― this social, that media
low cloud, moles, consequential revenge tropes
II.
sanctions are with us or against us ―
placid surface, fractured news
III.
bladderwort, creamy candle flower,
ratsbane ― trigger plant news
IV.
they used to joke about our weather news ―
dam damage, drenched abyss, moonshine
V.
brutal, unrelenting, deadly news
― missile debris, torn torso, fire spreads across
VI.
news criterion’s tough talk, a strange
unreality ― an artist’s hyper-realistic shadow
VII.
fake news, snake dues, baked bruise
― another bomb in the obliteration
VIII.
AI model goes rogue ―
news of blind human oversight
IX.
when all else fails there is always
a collagen lift ― news talk advises against cuts
X.
news is the alarm sound a bird makes
― it flies fast here, blood stain on the window
XI.
new map reshapes the world ― but still
the universe is unexpectedly stringy, theoretically
XII.
doom scroll news on an app in the dark ―
an algorithm stalking an agouti cracking a Brazil nut
XIII.
this day that hour ― part coffee, part word
half brewed in a cup of inner fable
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Image: Miguel Rivera - Pexels
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