Reality TV

You watch it because you wouldn’t
mind seeing some hot-shot
make a fool of himself
but he never does. Instead
someone like you or me get
our wherewithal sloshed like a
bucket that stokes the derisive
laughter—like nobody’s business.
But it’s everyone’s business on TV.

The sheer earnestness of a let down
no one can acknowledge
even more so because it’s true
truer even than reality TV.
No one needs to sponsor one disappointment
after another. Even when we all
get our stories straight
the hot-shot still gets all the goods.