TV Detox Diary, June 2022
When I confessed my need for trash
TV & rom-coms, I hid something
from you. I was hooked
on more than Big Brother, Family Feud
& Grey’s Anatomy. I devoured
The Apprentice like a dozen custard-filled
Krispy Kremes. I was enticed by Ivanka,
virtuosa of whisper-speak. Her chablis
colored hair. Her easy diplomacy like satin
lingerie. Convinced she was the nice
Trump, I was more suspicious
of her father but I gave him room. He’s brutal
but he’s a businessman,” I reasoned. My pal
Sophie used to insist that intellectuals
& artists need a permission slip to consume crap
entertainment. Escape, Linda, escape. Watch
a goddamned bodice ripper, she teased & I did.
I did for so long—until I couldn’t & still I can’t
except I sometimes catch The Great
British Baking Show because it’s non-
carcinogenic, can’t spread to my bones
or brain. I’m off Reality TV. Went cold
turkey but when it comes to my
sanity the jury’s still out.
19 thoughts on "TV Detox Diary, June 2022"
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Especially loved the language in the Ivanka stanza
‘can’t spread to my brain or bones’
nice work here!
Your voice in this
says so much more.
Deceptively deep poem.
I agree that the language is superb! And I can’t even do the baking ones. Something about “everything’s a contest.” 🙂
Delicious poem. I love what you say about the Trumps. I don’t watch much reality tv because I don’t have cable but I love to watch stupid TikTok clips on Instagram. That’s the new reality tv for me. The brain needs a break.
heartbreaking times
Last stanza: great self-deprecating humor!
The Great British Baking Show is most likely girdled, I would think. The pastries do the “chablis colored” dreaming and the showstopper bakes are just another “bodice-ripper.” This poem is friendly with a distant undertone. The last line is sticky!
chablis colored hair and whisper speak – I can’t help but remember her answering whether she was complicit in her father’s crimes. She engaged in hairsplitting over complicit just like William Jefferson Clinton argued over the word IS and what it meant.
This poem was comforting.
It’s interesting that some interpret the poem as being lighthearted but honestly I’m kind of horrified I succumbed to the Trump family ala reality TV. There IS a dark undertone here. Maybe I out to get in with a piece of charcoal and make it a little darker.
out = ought
So good- your images are so fresh and unexpected, and yes, it is that easy diplomacy like satin/lingerie, convinced me she might not be as awful. Love your writing here.
I never watched the Apprentice, but you nail Ivanka’s studied control draped in “satin lingerie”.
Love the easy-going voice of this. And you’re certainly not the first one seduced by reality TV. Me, too.
I don’t have a TV and I still could get through this- it is a great read!
I like that there is self-deprecating humor but there is also a real wake up call happening throughout. I also love “bodice-ripper” and “non-carcinogenic” as descriptors!
I also like your sense of humor, Linda. I got that there is a dark undertone, maybe because I see my own desperate choose for hiding from the stress of reality. It’s necessary but it makes me feel crazy too.
I love the confessional thread of this and I like that Sophie contributed how artists and intellectuals need a permission slip to consume crap—nice—! I really enjoyed this—it’s great!
This poem works on several levels. You gave me chills during your description of the Trumps, but you made me chuckle with the reference to the “non-carcinogenic” Great British Bake-off. Great work!