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Poetry: The Dead Don’t Vote by Richard LeDue

The Dead Don’t Vote

by Richard LeDue

I keep giving you my best,
like that poem about dinosaurs
in my backyard, who don’t worry
about six feet
or the political ramifications of wearing a mask,
while you justify statistics,
as if death is part of an equation,
calculating how to get re-elected,
and there’s the rhetoric of the “brave
dead,” written by a former poet
laureate- the recently deceased’s only battlefield
a hospital bed. No last words,
no final grasp from a scared hand,
just a phone call, as the President
eats a trademarked burger,
and I write this now, hoping
to never become so disillusioned
that I vote again.

 

The Dead Don’t Vote deals with the current pandemic and my disillusionment with how some of our leaders have dealt with it. The “dinosaurs in my backyard” references another pandemic poem titled, “One of My Many Hourly Updates,” that I had published by A) Glimpse) Of). The dinosaur image is also meant to symbolize how some people refuse to adapt to our world’s current situation. The “brave dead” and the poet laureate are meant to allude to Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” but written vaguely enough to leave it open to other interpretations.

About the author

Richard LeDue was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, but currently lives in Norway House, Manitoba with his wife and son. His poems have appeared in various publications throughout 2019, and more work is forthcoming throughout 2020, including a chapbook from Kelsey Books.

Poetry: Pandemic Poetry by Richard LeDue

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Created in 2014, Flashes is a privately owned literary website. We publish short stories, non-fiction, flash fiction and poetry. Our goal is to give talented writers a platform to showcase their creativity, with an emphasis on original voice, innovative style and challenging plots.
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