AN ELECTION DAY CAROL

By L.D. Michaels (With No Little Help From Charles Dickens)

It should be noted
That I've rarely ever voted.

What difference does one vote make?
Is it really worth my time to take?
I'll devise a lie
Why I passed it by.

So tonight, I'll start a book to say
It mesmerized me right through Election Day.

What better book to read than Dickens
In which each page the plot thickens.
It will divert me till the polls close.
It's the best excuse to interpose.

To get me past November 5th
"A Christmas Carol" is the ideal myth.

As the sunset fades,
I lower my shades 
And settle into bed
With this book I've never read

With a faint bedside light
That dims my sight
I begin the first page,
Immortalized by age:
"Marley was dead; to begin with."
This will last past November 5th.

I read on that Scrooge was to await 3 Spirits
That Marley’s ghost told him would visit.
As I read through the pages,
The Spirits emerged from the ages
At the tolling of Scrooge's bell
To lead him to Heaven or to Hell.

Each night as the bell tolled
Scrooge's past and present did unfold
On each visitation, the Spirit let him see
How morally bankrupt his life has come to be.

Over many days of reading,
I cringed at Scrooge's pleadings
To the Ghosts of Christmas Present and Past
Having lived a greedy life in which the die was cast.

Awaiting the  Spirit of Christmas Future to appear,
It was the future that Scrooge had the most to fear
When judgment for his sins he would hear.

I continue to read at a faster pace
To learn what sins Scrooge will face.

But I begin to wonder if I were in Scrooge's place
What sins would the Spirit of the Future call upon me to face?

Could Heaven possibly punish me for avoiding to vote?
It's such a minor sin the Lord would never take note.

I tremble with fright awaiting Scrooge's fate
As I strive to stay awake in my half-sleep state.
My reading slows down to a snail's pace,
As I begin to drift off to the sleep I'll embrace.

My mind drifts as I begin to envision
The potential consequences of my own decision.
I continue  to read and imagine the worst
Would the Spirit address Scrooge or possibly me first?


THE BELL TOLLS 

Did I just read "The bell tolls" on the next page?
Or was it a figment of my old age?
Or did I hear the bell with my own ears,
Or did I dream it from my rising fears?

Am I awake or asleep?

A hooded black-draped vision now appears without a peep.
An unearthly apparition appears before me,
Whether friend or foe I am unable to see.

My blood turns cold.
I must be bold.
Is this ghost as real as he seems?
Or is he a figment of my heat-oppressed dreams?

He offered an outstretched hand,
Which I took as a gesture to stand
To get ready to see the future land.

"I beg thee Spirit to speak to me
So that I can believe what I hear and see.
If you are here for me, 
Then tell me my fate
And if I can change it 
Before it's too late." 

"I've come " said the Spirit "to reveal the future to you
Because without your vote and that of others too
You'll see that what lies ahead
Will be four years of misery and dire dread".

"Touch my robe" to me he then said.

As my left hand clutched the Spirit's black robe
I expected to see the future unfold.
The Spirit took my arm with a cold tight fist,
And off we flew into a thick dark mist.

And when we emerged, it was now the 4th of July,
With Trump at the helm having barely squeaked by
With 1 Electoral College vote more than Harris could supply
Because of low voter turnout no one could deny.

Trump returned to the Capitol his mob had stormed
But this time to be sworn in with a government to form.

He had proven that lies, hatred and bigotry
Were a winning formula for election glee.

Justice Alito gave the inaugural prayer
For which Trump took credit with an egotistical air.
Trump, he said, was to serve as an Apostle of Jesus
Banning all abortions (though with his usual distortions).. 
The Gospel of Jesus Trump would spread from sea to sea
To convert our country into a Christian theocracy.
And if successful, Alito agreed to propose
That this con man be deified after he rose.

His inaugural speech went over an hour.
It rambled and rambled and quickly turned sour.
The only real theme was self congratulation
And the size of the crowd admiring his oration.
The rest was babel that revealed his mental deterioration
Which progressively worsened as he promised mass deportation.

All eyes were then on Vance whom everyone believed 
Was calculating his chance that Trump would be relieved.
The takeaway on Trump was that he was out on a limb
And would make a deal with Vance to pardon him.

The House and Senate also went red
By only a couple of votes that caused this dread.
The narrowest of margins across the land
Gave Trump and Congress the right to command.
Together they passed the most oppressive laws
Aimed at freedoms to which they now closed the doors.

Trump quickly appointed his lackey AG
Who dismissed all his indictments with alacrity.
He also declared that Trump could do no wrong
Now armed with full immunity and a hit-list 10 yards long.