The teleprompter tells them
The words they are to say
While looking directly into the camera
In that calm and knowing way.
The audience believes
They are professionals with skill
And are not just talking heads
Who recite without thought or will.
A malapropism here
And a mispronunciation there,
They presume the viewers either
Ignore it or simple bear it
For they, themselves, don’t
Seem to hear it.
From the teleprompter to their eyes
And from their eyes direct to mouth,
With no cognition in between
Their credibility quickly goes south.
The talking heads may stumble
But they never seem to fall,
No matter how outrageous
Their slips or errors,
Their editors and produces
And trailing sycophants
Assure them they are small.
If I don’t sound especially forgiving,
It’s because it seems an
Shamelessly easy way
To make a living.