We used to mark our ballots while away
from home and media, beside the sea,
when we were young and married. We would weigh
the issues and then vote with certainty.

So much has changed. We’re not together now;
we’re old but I have not forgotten how
to make a choice, by research and the thought
of saving all the kids from what we’ve wrought.

At first I scan the pages and put pen
to ovals I am sure about, and next
the candidate and proposition text
is read and some are marked and, third, again
I read and make for each my final pick,
in hopes we’ll cure the body politic.