Poetry Friday--"Voting"

Next Tuesday is Election Day. It's going to be an election that many people will ignore. It's not a Presidential election year, nor is it a Congressional election year, still, there are elections going on that may be consequential on the state or local level. If you don't vote, you have no one to blame but yourself if the school project in your town doesn't get funded, or if your state legislators decide to make it harder for poor women to get health screenings.

Voting is a right guaranteed by the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. You, as an adult, act as a model for the future citizens of this country. If you neglect to vote, young people may get the message that voting isn't worth their time and effort. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting."

I wrote a poem last year and it was accepted for inclusion in The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. The book was compiled and edited by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, and is published by Pomelo Books. If you flip through the poem credits, you'll find these familiar Poetry Friday blogger names: Joy Acey, Michelle H. Barnes, Doraine Bennett, Robyn Hood Black, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Kelly Ramsdell Fineman, Mary Lee Hahn, Penny Parker Klostermann, Julie Larios, Irene Latham, Renee M. LaTulippe, B. J. Lee, Jone Rush MacCulloch, and many more!

Here's my poem, which celebrates our right to vote:

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

The poem was also translated into Spanish for The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations and is titled "Votación." Special thanks to Liliana Cosentino and the others on the translation team. And, kudos to Sylvia and Janet for their editorial vision.

Head across the country to where Jone is hosting the Halloween weekend Round-Up at Check It Out. (Yes, it's the same Jone whose name is mentioned above.)

Finally, on Tuesday, go out and vote!