Our TV Set Was Black And White

Our TV set was black and white
And on its spindly legs it stood;
More deep than wide with dials that clicked,
All curved glass screen and grain of wood.

The screen was all of twenty inches,
Far away, way over there.
But you dared not creep up closer,
Lest your eyes would soon turn square.

A whole four channels from which to choose
Until they bid goodnight and closed;
From late night until mid-morning,
Static noise and screen of snow.

If you wished to change the channel,
Across the room you had to trek.
Then risk the loss of decent picture,
Rabbit ears were not high tech.

An exercise in mad frustration,
Swiveling, angling to and fro.
Yes! Stop there! The picture's "perfect,"
Right until you let them go.

If your show aired once a week,
Then one whole week you had to wait;
No binge watching or recording.
If you missed it, bad luck mate!

At times your programs overlapped
And that dilemma left you vexed -
Miss the end of the one you're watching
Or the beginning of the next?

All those ads with corny jingles,
Some of them were hard to take;
No fast forward and no pausing,
Just enough time for a bathroom break.

Or maybe not!...it was a gamble,
So it really must be said,
Though black and white it might have been,
At times it had me seeing red!