10.19.2020

Desultory Diary, Episode 34: A Mail-In Ballot Poem

 It's still not here! My wife and I requested  mail-in ballots months ago. She received hers weeks ago and has already voted. I chose to receive mine by mail. Some neighbors have received theirs. Where's mine?

Misdelivered? Lost in the mail? Undoubtedly one of the two.

Baltimore's mail--at least ours--has never been very good. It has become worse since Louis deJoy, a rich Republican donor and avid Trump-supporter, became Postmaster General in May. As we all know by now Trump asserts, without any evidence, that mail-in ballots invite fraud. Following Trump's wishes, one presumes, deJoy has done his best to slow the mail down. He has succeeded. Some days we get no mail at all. Some days we get the wrong mail. This never happened before. It's a little better now, since public protests have caused deJoy to partially mend his ways. So where's my ballot?

Good news! Today I got an e-mail from the Board of Elections, informing me that a new ballot should arrive within one week; I can hardly believe it. Will I be watching out for the mailman? You bet.

Last night--for unknown reasons--was one of those relatively rare nights when I couldn't sleep. I spent the time writing two poems in my head as I lay in bed. This is one of them. I hope my happiness shows.


Almost Empty

Happiness is a ballot;
sadness is none;
like us, sometimes mails fail;
they tell me they'll send another one.

This time my choice is clear:
purgatory or hell, for
even if the best man wins,
serious problems remain.

Too old for the polls, yet
too young to give up,
what does this citizen want?
He wants you. Everyone?

(A heart that loves this country
yet doesn't feign or swoon
for the likes of Kim Jong-un,
is this too much to ask?)

Everyone. (A ballot box
helps keep Pandora's open)--
Do not abandon hope--
This is still America!

Vote


10/12/2020 Update

I received my mail-in ballot today; filled it out--Guess who I voted for--and will mail it tomorrow. Endlich!



10/28/2020 update: The ballot is marked "received"--The status hasn't changed for the past five days. They must be swamped! At least it's not rejected. (Yet?)

10/30/2020 5 A.M. On the Election Board's website, "Ballot Received" has been changed to "Ballot Accepted." At last!

1 comment:

  1. I recall from mathematics the idea of a condition to be met being necessary but not sufficient to achieve a proof.
    So, the ballot is a necessary condition towards achieving a better society but not sufficient. The absence of the ballot, for me, would be an anguish, so I understand your relief that yours will come.

    ReplyDelete