Who what where why when, <br />the 5 'ws', the lead of the story <br />are supposed to tell the reader, <br />I'd learned in this journalism school, <br /> <br />but I'm stuck on the first 'w', <br />haven't even gotten to the story. <br /> <br />Who am I? Doesn't the writer <br />need to answer that question <br />before he can write the news? <br /> <br />Before I put down the first word, <br />a thousand speculations <br />cross the surface of my mind, <br />and the pencil never moves. <br /> <br />I sit at my desk asking myself, <br />who is writing this? <br /> <br />I try to go back <br />and remember: let's see, <br />I was born after World War II. <br /> <br />A cloud of advertising <br />brought our country <br />forgetfulness in the '50s. <br />Not so long before that, <br />the Industrial Revolution <br />alienated labor. <br /> <br />The world, in which <br />all these dramas were enacted <br />arose out of cosmic dust, <br />which itself came <br />out of a big explosion... <br /> <br />'Turn in your papers. <br />Class is dismissed, ' <br />I heard the professor say. <br /> <br />My pencil hadn't written a word.<br /><br />Max Reif<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-difference-between-journalism-and-literature/
