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“Election Day, 1984,” a poem by Carolyn Kizer

May 21st, 2006

Election Day, 1984

by Carolyn Kizer

*

Did you ever see someone coldcock a blind nun?
Well, I did. Two helpful idiots
Steered her across the tarmac to her plane
And led her smack into the wing.
She deplaned with two black eyes & a crooked wimple,
Bruised proof that the distinction is not simple
Between ineptitude and evil.
Today, with the President’s red button playing
Such a prominent role,
Though I can’t vote for it, I wonder
If evil could be safer, on the whole.

____________________

From COOL, CALM & COLLECTED: POEMS, 1960 – 2000, by Carolyn Kizer.

Used by permission of Copper Canyon Press.

Tags: carolyn kizer, poetry

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