There seems to be substantial disconnect
between the news and my experience.
Reports on screen will lead one to expect
rude violence amounting to immense.
The smash-and-grabs, the muggings, all the guns
now commonplace, group looting, road rage, more
they say is rife, while panic phrasing runs
through all the texts I’m reading on NextDoor.

I’m obviously old, but I still walk
and ride mass transit in the cities here.
I don’t encounter threats – I rarely balk
or change direction. There does not appear
to be a cause to arm or stay inside.
But news is bad, and I am mystified.