Newspoem 26 February 1996

NEWS GETS FLAT

The News got delayed on its way to the paper this morning by a flat tire. The News, having never in all its years as a language explained how to change a tire, could do nothing about except make a mental note to report an abandoned car creating a disruption in traffic on Vine street south of California and walk to work. The news knew the city intimately, and it thought about the Grammy awards and wondered what music sounded like as it walked downtown. There were only a few people. The mayor could be seen behind his desk on the third floor of the city building. There were a few police, and one local celebrity asleep in her bed across town. By the time the news got to work it only had a few hours to print. It skipped lunch and read the wire, whistling silently. So nice to have the town to one's self!