Childhood, idyllic, and not... from the author of LIE

Ah, childhood, some days are idyllic, and other days are not.  Here is a poem about those other days. If you've been reading along these posts, the new section of my original, long narrative poem, "The Idiot Box,"  is highlighted in bold.  Truly, the author of LIE.  

The Idiot Box
My father called itthe Idiot Boxlike it was a nickname, orterm of endearment. I was twelve. He called me Toots, a nickname, a term of endearment.Sometimes,   Ignoramus.  T.V. was always the Idiot Box.                        *The Idiot  Box: knobs, broken off,a pair of pliers plucked the channels.The Idiot Box:black and white,rabbit ears,sculpted wire coat hangerscaught the signals.The Idiot Box: a Buddha on a woman'slong dresser, my mother's dresser,along the wall in the living room,bowed to a pair of plaid easy chairs,and a burnt orange couch. In front of The Idiot Box:my mother peedthroughthe bottom of her wheelchair and was taken away,a bad puppy,out of sight.            *
5, 7, 9 and 11,the four channels of the Idiot Box.  Don't think we were far from the City.We were the 'Queen of the Sound,'45 minutes from Broadway, home of Tom Paine, author of "Common
Sense," a city founded by Huguenots, who fledFrance and religious persecution – New Rochelle;an intersection of past and future,a 
T.V. antennae perched precariously on our roof because who the hell needsmore than four channels of television,
anyway?We didn't.             *We could watch,  easy,four or five hours of T.V. every day."The Courtship of Eddie's Father." Families could be happy with only a father

if they had a butler;"The Brady Bunch."Fathers and mothers could remarryif they had even numbers of girls and
boys; Stop!  Stop!  And look
around:"The Partridge Family." Pile us on a bus and we could be famous, live happy,if we could only sing.  
                       *4:30 movie Godzilla destroyed Japan4:30 Godzilla destroyed JapanGodzilla destroyed JapanGodzilla destroyedGodzilla                       *Life was arbitrary.Somehow, we knew that already.                       *After school, we fretted,free, not free,until we'd turned off  the T.V.,and raced outside to greet him,swore our homework was done, that we had spent the afternoonplaying in the sun.I'd fix us supper.  He'd switch on the news. Soon enough, he'd grunt: What
the hell is up! I'd shut my ears.Serve up peas. Damn
Idiot Box.    Pass
the meatloaf!  Eat your peas! Children
are starving overseas! What channel are they on? We'd laugh,flee.
*
Stay tuned! More to come.  Truly the author of LIE. Consider LIE , the critically-acclaimed young adult novel,from St. Martin's Press, for your 2012 summer reading list!!