"Election Day"
I've scrutinized the candidates through cathode
rays, spread my ears to their telephone cocks,
interviewed their web sites with the glossy
intimacy of a Xerox machine.
We've sat on bar stools, clicked our frosty
steins, toasted the Dodgers or the Lakers, rubbed
shoulders like worms in a fisherman's bucket.
They've all assured me – sworn on a stack
of tabloids – they're totally supportive of Good
and ardently opposed to Evil.
And the gaggle of propositions! Should GPS
implants be required for all children under five?
Should the state park system be farmed out
to Disney? Which skyhook has the better grip?
I stand inside a curtained booth. Punch a card
with a metal stylus. Imagine what those
sought-after holes and well-hung chads
are doing in the darkness of the ballot box.
Elections reduce to mediagasms. A rough beast
in makeup slouches toward Sacramento.
© 2006 Fred Longworth
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