“Election Day Poetry”

 

c. 2020 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(10-20)

Note to Readers: Grandma McCray used to write poems, particularly about rural living, faith, and politics. She nurtured my lifelong interest in the theater of elected officials competing against each other. The four-year cycle of a national vote revives such memories. As I sit at my desk, I imagine her looking over my shoulder, with a smile.

 

VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE

Vote your conscience, I’ve been told

Since childhood days of yore

Your choice for higher office

Should come straight from the core

 

Vote your conscience, I have heard

The best is yet to come

Choose your selection wisely

Be a good citizen

Democracy dies in darkness

Darkness fears the light

Spark the torch of liberty

With the power of your rights

Democracy dies from neglect

Neglect brings cruelty

Evil feasts on silence

Fight the good fight, proudly

Vote your conscience, this makes sense

Don’t just take direction

Raise your hand in defiance

And the freedom of this nation

Vote your conscience, I believe

To move you must be moving

Stay safe through shared sacrifice

Keep yourself keen and thinking

The voter’s prayer comes before

This sacred act of hope

A rally ‘round the ramparts

Duty for the soul

The voter’s prayer comes again

After this act of choosing

Knelt in a reflective pose

While the Liberty Bell is ringing

ELECTION DAY

 

Election Day

Not far away

Choosing champions from the herd

Riding words

So much to decide

You’ll go left or right

In that we delight

Every four years

It’s a bullet between the ears

Choosing choices

Clenched fists

And raised voices

Where’s the menu for this Mulligan Stew

I say it to you

We’ve got work to do

Work, work

Get funky, do the hurky jerk

These are the perks

Democracy is a mystery

One party rule makes illegitimate power

But two, oh boy

That rules the hour

Step right up

With your tin cup

Make the choice, a corporatocracy

Or the Proud Boys

Make some noise

Knives out of the sheath

Air burns with heat

It’s you or me

What’s it gonna be?

Rip and roar

With the media whores

Preaching pundits prance

Do the Safety Dance

You’ve got one chance

Right or left

Don’t forget

Lincoln or Roosevelt

The Hollywood elite

Or the Bible Belt

What’s that smell?

There’s a fire at city hall

The empire is about to fall

Heed the call

Drinking whiskey from a soda can

This is a four-year plan

To set up a government

Where the harrumphing hilltoppers

Give their consent

Swinging ball-peen hammers

Stutter and stammer

The American people have spoken

Yet the clock is still broken

Nevermore

We’re in line at the megastore

Queue up with your sippie cup

Thrice cursed

This is the worst

But you’ll soon feel relief

To be again on your knees

Feel the breeze

In the space of your head

Brain-burned

Left for dead

There’s a calm on the water

When the pond goes full

From political fodder

Listen to sons and daughters

They’re the voices of tomorrow

Crying anguish of sorrow

When the gods go broken-hearted

This creation story they started

Has gone seedy

Overgrown and weedy

Thistles prick

Citizens go sick

Leaders promise a quick fix

But in the end

This pair of old men

Will do it again

Point fingers in haste

Let the moment go to waste

There’s egg on your face

Who won the race?

The blue ribbon falls

Damn it all!

This dreamscape rips like Superman’s cape

Get out the duct tape

Hey, hey, hey

Fix that frock

Darn those super socks

The man of steel

Needs to take the wheel

Moses threw in the laundry

When Babylon fell into the sea

Mercy me!

There’s a sun on the horizon

New day dawning over the mountains

But it looks quite pale

American dream gone stale

Same old quips

Another package of greatest hits

Moldy oldies

Silver and goldies

Pomp and pageantry

A curse on the breeze

I’ll tell you, friend

You’re the chooser

Wish I was a boozer

A stiff drink would help me think

While I watch the debates

And tug on Superman’s cape

S. O. S.

This ain’t the sound of success

It’s a cry of fatigue

From the Atlantic City Boardwalk

To the ocean breeze

Off the coast of Cali

Vote for me!

Let it be!

GRANDMA

Grandma’s voting for Biden

It’s a choice she’s made before

Like buying Miracle Whip instead of mayonnaise

At the grocery store

Dad’s pick at the ballot box

Goes by the name of Don

He says that Christians must be strong

There’s a riot going on

Uncle Spitz says any choice that fits

Is better than the rest

Coronavirus USA

Has put us to the test

Aunt Francine wanted Bernie

She said ‘Give him the switch!’

Medicare and a government lair

Paid for by the rich

Cousin Creed said ‘Let it bleed!’

There’s a chance it could be right

If we stuff votes for Jorgensen

It’ll keep us up all night

Nephew Sam in a rocking chair

He’s high on mountain dew

Votes get counted with the goats

And pots of possum stew

Grandma’s made her choice

She don’t need a pep talk now

Roosevelt was her hero

In the country, milking cows

Grandpa says only fools decide

To throw their votes away

He’s speaking out for Trump again

On Election Day

Niece Eileen liked Jill Stein

Much more than Hillary

This year she‘ll vote for Hawkins

Says it ain’t easy being Green

Nephew Jake says ‘For goodness sake!’

He’s voting with a blindfold

And a dartboard on the wall

Politics is getting old

Grandma’s voting for Biden

She’s a Democrat through and through

Before the sunset comes

It’s what she wants to do

Grandpa says ‘MAGA me!’

He’ll choose the orange man

Cast his vote for the reality star

With the spray-on tan

I trust that Grandma McCray would be proud.

 

Comments about ‘Words on the Loose’ may be sent to: icewritesforyou@gmail.com

Write us at: P. O. Box 365 Chardon, OH 44024