VOTING FOR A FUTURE

VOTING FOR A FUTURE

Five years on and I still can’t vote;
A chief with children, a graduate career,
A son who dreams of his red road home,
Falling away to paradise, slipping into oblivion.

Five years on and I still can’t vote;
Living half the world away, Living Well.
There’s a penalty to pay for Leaving,
The word’s become synonymous with Betrayal.

Five years on and I still can’t vote;
Only the politburos and civil servants fit the bill.
I check Cheapflights online but they have doubled,
Like the US dollar of childhood, they are beyond my reach.

Five years on and I still can’t vote;
My wife has washed the party colours from her hands,
Wears jeans and sneers at my Longing.
Disenfranchised? A small price to pay for this Living Well.

Five years on and still a boy of 36;
We are the diaspora, the disconnected,
Held in disregard. My relatives eat from my table,
No place is set for me. We are Living Well.

Copyright Madresicilia 2008