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Liesl Feb 2018
They say that one hundred years ago
Women ‘earned’ the right to vote
It makes you wonder what men did
To earn that right before us.
It must’ve been something pretty impressive.
A family resort

has summer deport

where this howl upon bear

must pray as song does appeal

that really trivializes this complacently

with noxious heat in highest mountains

as wonders elicit their ground again

though plause for such ovation

now garner law in woods.
As Susan Collins
Arlene Corwin Apr 2017
The Politician

This to those who vote by rote
Or vote by call -
To those who vote at all:

Has he kept his word?
Kept to promises you heard?
Are you satisfied, let down?
Waiting to see what goes round:
(Several choices
Of the voices
Voting for the offices
Meant to be filled.)

Has he gone back on his vows -
Contradictory or harmful now?
Double thought through double-think?
Does it stink, prepared to sink
A land with aids, advisors, incomes
Sly, and on the side?

How will issues relevant be dealt with?
How will tasks be basked in
By the men
In power,
Typically men of the hour;
At their call, flasks, casks to drink from:
State affairs for one to think from!

The Politician 2.27.2017
Our Times, Our Culture II;
Arlene Corwin
Did you vote for...?
Scott Hamsun Mar 2017
Things are changing fast, just as they should,
They've changed for the worse, now let's change for the good.

The national pride has dwindled and died,
Call us whatever you want, we have God on our side.

Please do not fear what tomorrow might bring,
This extends further than a political wing.

I'd like to give The EU a personal thanks,
You've shown what a cancer man can create.

Were turning our backs and we're done with your games,
If the countries collapse, we know you are to blame.

So thank you La Pen, You care for your land.
We'll show those ******* where to stick their grand plan.
"Paris doesn't look like Paris anymore"
Vote Le Pen!
RLG Jan 2017
An open letter
to those poets
who align
to the center:

                                        When prose sits in the middle
                                         it resembles gift-card drivel.
                                             It cheapens your work;
                                              your use of italics irks.


Choose a side.
I don’t care if it’s
left or                                                       ­                                right,
                ­                                                                 ­ Or center-right
                                         ­                                                     or alt-right­
(whatever that is).

The indecisive
have a lot to answer for
us being                                                       ­                                                  divisive.

Did that centered
poem you wrote
distract you from
casting a vote?

Stop fence-sitting
                                                   ­         in-between
and enjoy a
splintered 2017,
                                            ­                                                   from one side.
Disclaimer: I have used my dislike for center-aligned poems as a device to be 'political'. I understand this is a stylistic choice and I do not mean any offence to poets who prefer this layout. My opinion on this matter is dwarfed by my political frustrations.

If non-voters feel uncomfortable reading this poem, that is precisely the intention.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/omribenshahar/2016/11/17/the-non-voters-who-decided-the-election-trump-won-because-of-lower-democratic-turnout/#2991af3440a1

And yes, this was a nightmare to format on Hello Poetry. It is less of a mess in a Word doc. Still a mess though.
Thomas Newlove Oct 2016
The world needs a hero.
Someone who can steer us
In the right direction.

The world is ******,
Out of luck, divided by factions,
Borders, rules, laws and orders,
Created by selfish *****.
***** politicians.
Men who treat human beings like fractions. Corrupt.
The kind of over-the-top villains you read about in comic books.
Or maybe it came to be by the Almighty all-seeing ****.
Another dastardly, ******* who is as ridiculous as he sounds or the world looks.
Who decides who lives or dies like a dictator murdering for sport or kicks.
He (because it's always a "he") picks which child kicks the bucket
And which rich, white man gets the luck.

The world needs Batman.
Not a bad man with a bad plan
To rid the world of different colours, customs, looks.
We don't need several bland, blonde shades of white.
We need the Dark Knight.
Someone to fight and rid the Joker from his rise.
Someone to take back what was taken, what they took.
Bad jokes everyday that make you choke
On the water that you **** as you watch the morning news.
A fish dangling on the media's hook.
You can't breathe but contradictorily you can't help but be amused
At the crazy things he's said or done.
The media controls our mind, our thoughts.
We've been bought by the capitalist system that we took
To be our salvation.
We need to look forward as one world, one nation
And fix all the massive cracks and little nooks.
And pray that when it's time he doesn't win.
And pray that the Earth doesn't reject it's kin,
By punishing the people who did it wrong.
We need to learn from our perpetual mistake song
And act before the world dies
When big business lies, and the waters rise,
And we continue to drive and live off burgers and meat pies.

We need a hero who can fix the mess
Who looks like Christian Bale or Adam West,
Who can fight for human rights and save the day,
And still have time for dinner by candlelight
With ladies without groping them for kicks
For not all men exclusively think with their *****.
Just the ones with big egos, small brains and smaller ******.

So we need action, we need a plan!
Some way to finally stick it to the Man.
A way to fix environmental disaster,
A way to feed the starving and the masses
Without death and destruction fattening our *****
And eating up the planet on a platter.
We need to find a way to cure disease
And stop the greedy, bring them to their knees
And act to put our collective minds at ease.

So what's my grand suggestion for this plan?
When you vote, you vote with what feels right
Not what's comfortable or written on a t-shirt -
At first it could be difficult and may hurt,
But it's essential for the future to be bright.
Look to the skies at every possible night,
And give the stars and clouds a thorough scan,
And when you find that eerie, striking, stark light
That issues the coming of a dark knight
Make sure you give your vote to Batman.
Bit of a rough beat-poem. I got the idea from a tweet that said: "Clowns terrorising the street. A real life billionaire villain running for president. We need you Batman"
Oscar Mann Nov 2016
I didn’t vote, because I didn’t care
And it didn’t matter anyway
A pawn I was, a silly ant
My vote was mine to throw away

And thus ended election day
With the grave result for all to see
By throwing away my precious vote
I too instigated the second-rate democracy
Izzy Nov 2016
My mom once told me to never discuss politics or religion with someone you love.
I believed her but it never really sunk in.
Today it did.

Today I watched my friend praise a classmate when they gave the right candidate.
Today I was jokingly told that my classmate couldn’t speak to me when I said I had no opinion but favored the other side.
Today my neutrality was wrong.
Today my answer wasn’t good enough.
Today I learned that someone I previously thought was joking, wasn’t.
Today I felt worried and trapped and overwhelmed.
Today I questioned my future and the future of my country.
Today I realized my classmates were against me.
Today I realized it’s not politics anymore, its life and death.

Today it became real.
Today we voted.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Personally I don't have enough information to have one, much less argue or explain it. I prefer not to speak up because I don't like conflict, so i didn't.

A few of these statements may be exaggerated but some aren't.
Sara L Russell Aug 2016
Sara L Russell  29th August 2016

Time to retire now, ladies,
the drawing room awaits
as the gentlemen go to smoke
and drink brandy
or tell ribald stories
unsuitable for a lady's delicate ears.
Time to work on our embroidery
or retire to bed.
The men shall retire whenever they wish,
and the stars are too many for us to count.
Now we must lie abed
dreaming of Mr. Darcy
or perhaps a future career,
If only one's gender
might permit such a thing.


Time to adjourn now, ladies,
Mrs. Pankhurst has said her piece
and the rozzers are coming
to break up our meeting of like minds.
I heard that she was in prison for a time,
and went on hunger strike!
oh yes, my dear,
I heard they beat her,
force-fed her
then left her to cry alone in her cell.
Only she didn't cry. She never cries.
They say one day we women
will be able to vote!
Yes, of course it could happen.
We deserve it, after all.


Time to adjourn now, people,
it's been a long session
and even ministers need a lunch break.
Mrs. Thatcher no doubt will carry on
making notes for yet another meeting,
I don't think that woman ever sleeps.
Even if she never does,
she has razor-sharp concentration
and a sharper mind.
You don't want to get
on the wrong side of that one.
Funny, years ago,
they never dreamed we'd have
a woman Prime Minister.
Not everyone agrees with her
yet few dare to disagree.


Time to retire now, ladies.
The men have important things
to discuss, too serious for our lowly ears.
Theirs is the sun and the daylight;
ours are the shadows that herald the dusk.
Gather your prayer beads
and lower your gaze.
Do not look into the eyes
of the Imam as you pass by
on the way to your rooms.
Do not let any breeze from the window
displace your veil.
Guard your modesty
at all times;
protect your respectability,
for it is all you have in the world.
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