Game Show

Game shows -
That most trivial of pursuits,
On at seven and seven-thirty -
Allow us to invite a host
And his guests into our living rooms
To spin wheels
To question answers
(which is something more of us should do, really)
To find fortunes
Or at least a year's supply of Advil
Or Rice-a-Roni
The San Francisco treat.

We watch and it's always
Exactly
The
Same
Exactly
The
Same
Exactly
But just
The
A little
Same
Different.

It's a ritual
Minus the religion
(Unless that happens to be as category
You can take for four-hundred).

And yet...
And yet...
this year
I have found it
Oddly affirming that when we are in such
Jeopardy
Of losing sight of what
Is fact
Or false
Or real
Or alternative -
Every night
There is this shining reminder
That some questions
Get the affirmative beep
And some get buzzed
And there is no talk of
Politics
(Unless that happens
To be a category you take
For six-hundred)
Or perspectives.
Some things are facts.
Some responses are incorrect.
Reality is actually something we can agree on.
There's just an occasional
Glitch,
And the judges correcting
An incorrect question
And adding or subtracting
Dollar amounts
That leave no doubt
That the truth has real value
That can't be argued with
And that it can even
Determine if you end up with a cash prize
Or Advil.