Tuesday, October 6, 2020

JUST THE SAME? (NOT SO FAST, SPARKY) - A POEM BY A.H. SCOTT

 









Just The Same?



Vote for love

Vote for hate

Vote for days past

Vote for future’s fate

Choice between two devils some of you may think

Yet, beyond that surface of your perceptions, you should take a deeper think 

Not just Donald 

Not just Joe

Two white guys in their 70’s

Yes, that’s who they are by date they were born

But, they are NOT the same

I’m going to let you in on the score

Trump is who he is

Biden is who he is

What will either do if elected to a term?

One relies on the Constitution as being dead words upon a scrap of paper, to be twisted and bastardized 

One sees that parchment as a document that breathes life with the words upon it

Two men, different is what they are

Vote like you give a fuck

Not just a perfunctory damnation of both men as being corrupt

Prez is the star on center stage

But, then again, in a book of an administration you’ve gotta’ look at each line upon the page

You know, the people he brings along to the table of ideas

Is it a nationalist’s coda?

Is it a sonnet of brotherhood?

Maybe if you’re on that side of fortune’s scale that hasn’t given a second thought about rights being granted, then just sit back and stay in your bubble of obliviousness 

As for the rest of us we know the journey is not a stair-step of simplicity of just waking up in the morning and pounding our chest with an American chant of acknowledging legal protections

Just the same, are they?

Depends on who stands in the chorus behind the man in the spotlight

Can you honestly say choice between two devils with a straight face?

Especially when one has that scent upon him of Lucifer’s place

Nah, ya’ can’t shrug this choice away

So, if you don’t want to vote, just stay your ass home

But, don’t put up a false equivalency as a shiny object that roams 

Choosing a candidate is only part of civic participation

Do a little research on whom and what they bring to the table

Policies matter, as well as history

Just the same, you say?

November’s coming, so your hesitation better get out of the way

Man in the spotlight is the one who leads the chorus

Chorus behind him should never be a Faustian surprise

Okay, so I’m voting and I’m excited to flex my franchise

I do it for myself, family, friends and even those I never met who have paid the price in the shadows and light

So, you may think the vote doesn’t count or matter at all 

But, you can scribble a moniker of your dog, cat, or even the words ameba or zygote on your ballot if you think a reason to vote is too damned small 

Yet, you should use sobriety in answering history’s call

I’m thinking it big! 

I’m thinking it bold!

I’m thinking of those who were young and those who were old

These are a few threads of the quilt of America – 


Emmett Till, Mose Wright, Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, Medgar Evers, John Lewis, C.T. Vivian, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Alice Paul, Sarah Weddington, Harvey Milk, Larry Kramer, Bayard Rustin, Walter Reuther, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Fred Korematsu, Russell Means, James T. Byrd, Matthew Shepard, Heather Heyer



And, if you can’t think of anyone or cause worthy of the reason for you to vote 

Then sit your ass home, don’t bitch and don’t moan

Just remember that your choice to vote is always bigger than just about you

VOTE! 

IT’S UP TO YOU!!


A.H. Scott

10/4/20



#NYC #vote #voter #voting #election #vote2020 #election2020 #USA2020 #USAelection #USAvote2020  #history #justice #feminism #civil-rights #equality #gay-rights #trans-rights #society #culture #labor-union #environment #politics


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