A Nation Without a President

America the beautiful
Whose banner waves
O’er land of the free
And home of the brave,
In retrospect,
There was no hint
That you would have
No President.
But things got strange,
And even more,
They’d get stranger
By the score.
Super Tuesday
Has come and gone,
And war for the White House
Wages on.
With scant results
Too close to call,
The 54th election
Is gravely stalled.
Each vote’s important,
Yet some won’t count,
The butterfly ballot
Doesn’t amount.
Hanging, pregnant,
Indented chads,
Absentee ballots,
People are mad.
Demonstration,
Confusion, accusations,
Division, derision,
Litigation.
Revote! Recount!
The protesters cry
In a tense situation
Gone awry.

The country’s divided
With no land-slide.
The stock market’s
Taken a serious dive.
Tom, Ted,
Peter, Dan,
And media coverage
On every hand.
Press briefing,
Televised address,
Spin control,
Incredible stress.
Ruff’s death,
Chaney’s attack,
Supreme Court Justices
Robed in black.
Opponents appealing
On either side
With matters for the courts
To decide.
Candidates
In personal pride,
Rally constituents
To their side.
Merchants making
A buck or two
Cashing in
On who’s who.
No one knows
What it would take
To rectify
Such mistake.
What would George,
The General, think,
To contest
Or just blink?
President Lincoln
Who died for the nation,
How would he handle
This situation?

And then,
There’s Lady Liberty,
Poised in New York’s
Harbor tall,
How would she
Cast her lot?
If she could vote
At all.
Leader of democracy,
Super Power,
Mighty beacon,
Refugee’s tower,
The world amusingly
Laughs with scorn:
Britain, Cuba
And all who look on.
December 18th,
The electors meet
With votes to determine
Triumph or defeat.
Come January 20,
What shall be done?
Who is to lead us
In 2001?

O sunshine state
With clouds galore,
Will it be Bush?
Or will it be Gore?
Some will count blessings
This Thanksgiving Day,
But others
The ballots of Y2K.

© 2000 Walterrean Salley