NaPoWriMo Day 29

Today's quote: "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for." Dead Poet's Society

Today's prompt: choose your favourite newspaper or online news provider. Jot down five to ten headlines that jump out at you and without reading the articles, select elements from each headline to create a new event about which your poem reports.

Today's poem:

Life Spectator

It is who you know,
Not what you know,
When television fans win court cases,
And murder charges are bought
In a case regarding a Playstation.

Take some time out,
Get some fresh air,
Watch for space rocks, stars,
Or even play some football,
Rather than be purely
A life spectator.

Some have money to burn,
Spending £100,000 on a dead man's words,
While other live in poverty and homelessness,
As house prices soar and technology prices fall.
But the sky and the sea
Are free to all.
Watch the best entertainment,
As the tide roars and the sun shines;
Dare not to be just a life spectator.

Notes: While this might not be a news story poem specifically, I was drawn to various headlines and stories on the BBC website today, resulting in a poem about the news of living, or not really living, in general.