Absentee Ballot

The Sixties almost killed Will,
a wasted man who sobered up
long enough to vote for JFK.

And he’d have voted for RFK
if he hadn’t been killed as well.
Now life has changed for Will.

Tonight he tells his friends at AA
he doesn’t plan to vote this year.
He plans something else he hopes

will help the candidate who wins.
Rather than go to the polls, he’ll
stay at home and pray instead.

Donal Mahoney, nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes, Donal Mahoney has had poetry and fiction published in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Some of his work can be found by clicking here…