OZZIE

I met an actor from an ancient day
Who said: Four-and-ten years worth of episodes
Sit in the vault. While on the shelves,
Half-assed sitcoms sit, and O, they sell
And not a single one could boast
The ratings that we had in days gone by.
Yet we survive, and hope our deepest hope,
That soon our works will rate a DVD.
And on its cardboard box these words appear:
“Our name is Ozzie-Harriet, Show of Shows:
Look on us, with our 1950’s hair!”
No residuals remain. Yet the memory
Of that beloved show, great in its time,
Sustains me as I seek three squares a day.

[Apologies to Percy Bysshe Shelley]