“TV” contains several allusions. To what do they refer and how do they reveal the theme in the poem? TV in Black and White
In the mid sixties
We were sentenced to watch
The rich on TV—Donna Reed
High-heeled in the kitchen,
Ozzie Nelson bending
In his eighth season, over golf.
While he swung, we hoed
Fields flagged with cotton
Because we understood a sock
Should have a foot,
A cuff a wrist,
And a cup was always
Smaller than the thirst.
When Donna turned
The steak and onions,
We turned grape trays
In a vineyard
That we worked like an abacus,
A row at a time.
And today the world
Still plots, unravels with
Piano lessons for this child,
Braces for that one—
Gin in the afternoon,
Ice from the bucket…
But if the electricity
Fails, in this town,
A store front might
Be smashed, sacks may find
Hands, a whistle
Point the way.
And if someone steps out
With a black and white TV,
It’s because we love you Donna,
We miss you Ozzie.