Wide eyes open like floodgates
Hours pass as I stare, rapt
Absorbing, experiencing
 
“You watch too much TV”
They see a weakness, a rotting mind
But inside my brain is alive and leaping
Learning how to live, how to love
 
Hot, inadvertent tears splash on the screen
I feel every death, every gunshot, every fall from a tower
My body shakes with wheezing laughter
As I react to office shenanigans and sitcom sarcasm
 
Every genre is a flavor
I roll them on my tongue, savoring the taste
A critic of high esteem, I fiercely debate
Cinematography, dialogue, plot, character, and world-building
 
I watch hundreds of people, in different universes
Command kingdoms, betray allies, fight for their cause
I see the world through a million perspectives
I am small, but my universe is infinite
 
I am shaped by what my wide eyes consume
Greedily devouring episodes and seasons
The constant background music to my life
Showing me what not to do, who to be, how to live
 
And even when poisonous words are slung
And bitter fights leave us irreparably torn
The characters and stories we experienced together
Bond my sister and I and unite our hearts
 
So where would I be without my shows?
Would I be as strong, and wise, and worldly?
Would I be as confident, and insightful, and compassionate?
 
It doesn’t matter
I am these things and so much more
I am a grateful product of the television I have seen
And the lives I have vicariously lived