Cable TV
by Dennis Bernstein


I
It's the deluxe package.
Sixteen versions of HBO—
six-hundred eighty channels
on three continents:
She can hardly see the screen.

II

Mother loves cable-weather
with a wide-screen spread
and a satellite zoom-lens.
It’s the only time she's able
to see a good snow storm.

III

Today she’s befuddled.
She can't tell the difference
between the cellular phone
and the remote control for the TV.
She keeps dialing the operator
long distance, trying to reach
channel seven, where Gene Kelly
is still getting stylishly drenched
while singing in the rain.






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