she sat on a wooden
chair next to
the television, holding
an unraveled wire
hanger in the air
so her husband
and children could watch
the news
and saturday night
tv without the interruption
of white static

I sat on the couch with
the rest
of the kids, but didn’t
watch the show
I just stared
at the blank face
trying to
hold the wire perfectly
still,
and when it dropped, her
husband’s eyes
would roll and flash like
the screen
as she apologized
and steadied
her ever-shaking hand

I watched her all
evening,
sitting on that hard
chair
as I quietly waited for
the show to end,
so I could go
home
and forget about
the white static and
the woman
who brought us the news

–“the woman who brought us the news” was first published in 605 Magazine in 2010.