I Used to Vote

(For Russell Brand)

I used to vote, used to stand in line
over the decades in school gymnasiums
from California to Vermont to be
checked in by the politically-connected

volunteers brushing doughnut crumbs
off registration files until they’d find
my name and I’d sign and head into a
booth to pick a county commissioner

or city council woman or senator
or president and pull the red lever
over, believing it a citizen’s duty
and right to have a say-so in the

goings on of government, to partake
in the democratic process instead of
throwing bombs or firing the heavy
caliber stuff from rooftops. But now

with the hair gone white, the joints
rusted and clanging and the right
again goose-stepping it towards
oblivion, while the rich have rigged

the whole show, I’ve had enough being
made a fool of. I’m done listening to
the flowery lies of the corrupt, smirking
down at us serfs scurrying after crumbs,

the bits and pieces of promises made
thrown our way to satiate our growling
stomachs and broken hearts. Now, I
look at rooftops and wonder.

Paul Lojeski's poetry has appeared in journals and online. He’s also the author of the satiric novel, The Reverend Jimmy Pup. He lives with his wife and daughter in Port Jefferson, NY. Read other articles by Paul.