Newspoem 7 September 2004 ELECTION DAY FORECAST

Dark clouds of smoke cast from burning
polling places are used to fill colorful
balloons distributed in churches and on
streetcorners. Each child is given a flaming
splinter to wave about.

From a ruptured water main, volunteers fill
the tin cups of Floridans lined up around
the block, garnishing each with a bamboo
umbrella and plastic flamingo.

When they went to bomb Cuba it was gone.
Castro released the island state from its
moorings and Cuba drifted northward to
came to rest on the shores of Sweden.
Both countries entered negotiations to
form a collective system of free education
and health care.

Cheney declared Sweden part of the Axis of Evil.
Advisors pointed out that, technically, an axis
is a straight line, such as the one the world
revolves around, not a disconnected scattering of
points. Cheney told them to fuck off. As VP,
he claimed, he has the power to veto geometry.

Who won? It depended on which channel you watched.
Fix News had declared Bush the uncontested winner
by a landslide, but since, in the interests of
controlling spin, they had made this announcement
two days before the elections, there was lingering
skepticism.