in the 1940s

 

In the 1940s

There was no need of a clock to tell you

what your body told you to expect:

the afternoon arrival of the Good Humor man

with your chocolate-coated treat.

 

When you have parents who know the exact moment

a voice will ask and answer -------

 

"Who know what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

The Shadow knows."

 

you happily live in the shadow of radio,

your private Inner Sanctum

for the alone and ignorantly  innocence,

and you fear no evil

as you  enter the Inner Sanctum

in the mystery of your radio,

in the sanctuary of a child's aloneness.

 

Your father, more brilliant than he admitted,

favored Amos 'n Andy.

Your mother, more blessed with virtue

than she dared claim,

got whatever she got

from Our Gal Sunday, Stella Dallas, and Just Plain Bill.

 

you happily live in the shadow of radio,

in the tutoring of science fiction Saturdays,

the paralysis of Perry Mason,

the crime and punishment of Dragnet,

the humor of the cowboy,

the trickster stance of Johnny Dollar.

(Then you knew nothing of the oldest profession,

but now you guess the lady who hollered for Johnny Dollar,

was a card-paying member of the oldest profession)

 

Oh, damn , such absurd dues  women pay

for pleasures not their own.

 

Praise radio of the `1940s

for the un-pretty  advancing

of raw knowledge.

most needed now.

 

Jerry W. Ward, Jr.                                            October 27, 2020

 

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