Celebrity News

The main pillar in a popular bar

cracked from ceiling to floor in Costa Rica
no injuries reported so it didn’t make
the front page news even though

the earth shook so hard they couldn’t stand
only an anecdote on page six
while the first page showed the face of a former
president who suffered through a sexual scandal 

a humiliation soon forgotten 

mythical now, as his charisma and magnetism
still attract people to his not so pretty face
yet, sexy enough to speak at the Democratic Convention. 

Last week a famous actor and director
became the mystery guest at the GOP event
took the viewers by storm as he talked to an empty
chair, a metaphor for a president who wasn’t there 

no matter what the other candidates said
he stole the show and that’s what viewers talked about.
For some he was a befuddled old man 

but to many significant and profound.

Headlines are like gossip
in community, focusing on the outrageous
and absurd, foibles of humankind
held up for public scrutiny,
a cautionary tale for all who listen.

We hear about Kardashian but not Afghanistan
a conversation with an empty chair but not
an economic plan, nor do we hear about
the heroic effort of people who make 
sacrifices to improve our lives

unless it is Sean Penn
taking a boat to  New Orleans,

or Angelie Jolie flying to Haiti, never mind

the doctors and other volunteers

who converge every time disaster strikes

their action is expected while the celebrity

is highlighted and celebrated.