An Opinion Piece On The Death of Newsprint

I miss holding newspapers
Like I miss seeing forecasts of snow,
And stories about the deaths of dictators.
I miss the versatility of newsprint,
Such as scrunching day-old comics into balls,
To soak up my poured-on soles.
I miss the Sunday football predictions, which made the pundits
Look like Monday fools.
There was still more for the world to do
In the age of newsprint:
Like using two-day columns as barbeque cleaner, and gift wrap.
I liked catching and highlighting typos like other kids caught fireflies in summer.
I often wondered of who would contact the elderly Sterling household
For the litter of puppies they were trying to sell?
I even miss reading the stories which sank my heart,
Since that’s when I knew journalists were needed, and were working.

Matthew Johnson earned his MA in English from UNC-Greensboro, and is a former resident of CT and upstate NY. He's a former sports journalist who wrote for the USA Today College and The Daily Star (Oneonta, NY). His poetry has appeared in Maudlin House, The Roanoke Review, and elsewhere. He is a one-time Best of the Net Nominee (2017) and his debut collection, Shadow Folks and Soul Songs (Kelsay Books) was released in 2019. Twitter: @Matt_Johnson_D