100

Gwangju News Turns 100

Neruda flinched when asked about the color of his shoes,
Which were not shined nor foretold, in rhyme, of the Gwangju News.
T-50s circle, sonic booms, while motel neon flickers.
Old men and women pull their carts to the dump to dicker
About four or five thousand won, their pay for daily gathering,
Barbers beneath spinning poles, to shave, the men are lathering.
Here’s to 100 months of successive news reporting,
All the topics fit to print, Simon’s photos exhorting,
And Leroy’s comics, Allen’s life and others on display:
Things to do in the minutes each week reserved for play.
The heat is back upon us, we matter to our schools,
If not for us whose face could the hakwons use?
On banners as large as the river is wide where the tigers play ball.
It’s all covered by volunteers who give the News their all.
We welcome the new, “farewell” the old on pages of hard-hitting stuff.
No one would dare accuse this magazine of just printing fluff.
So here’s to 2Ys, Minsu, Singsing, Julian, Harsha, Mali, Jessica, Doug
And Jon, Maria, Debra, Nana and Dr. Shin who allows us to lug
Our stories from web-filled brains to be put on glossy pages
Of recycled paper, thanks to Andrew. A toast to a room full of sages!