Voting Bloc

•

Aye, aye, aye.
Her assurance that plan A would improve
plan Z was comforting, given that she has spent
the previous two years eyeing its maturity,
climbing her graphs like a capital I.
Nodding thoughtfully, the I’s were peeled
off the charts and replaced with A’s starting points.

Nay, nay, nay.
The sound of an odd-toed ungulate
or a close relative. My Uncle Robert
was the Big Ten record holder in the steeplechase
for half a season. Paralyzed by the responsibility,
he moaned in his sleep, dreaming of getting a hoof
stuck in a hurdle, breaking a hind leg
and forced to put it to sleep,
slowing Uncle to a canter.

The undecided’s have it.
They have gone onto middle management,
the moderate wing of every party,
at least two marriages,
and have hung a jury.
Leading to Uncle only being allowed
to view horses on film and his trainer
taking the mean of Z and A to plot the comeback
on a wet board.