The title calls the speaker a "news junkie," and the poem plays that idea out in two short moments. In the first, it's morning and the newspaper is waiting. The speaker feels tempted to "stand by," to hover and watch, with a heart "in a bag." That odd image suggests a heart that is hurt or nervous, carried around like something fragile or even bruised, as if reading the news means putting it at risk.
The second stanza turns to a tick, a small parasite that hitches a ride and burrows in. The speaker has brought one "from miles away / into my bed." The comparison seems to be that the news works the same way. Troubling events far off travel with us, cling on, and end up in our most private spaces. The mood is uneasy but quiet and wry. The speaker doesn't panic. They notice, with a kind of dry honesty, how hard it is to stay informed without being infected by it, and how hard it is to stop.