A Line To Vote

[bigtree]

I had been running hard,

anxious and desperate

before I saw the line to vote.

It was 7:15 when I pulled into the parking lot.

I had decided to go right after work

and get it over with.

Like a kid eating vegetables,

I wanted to take it all in and swallow it whole.

My precinct has been the easiest one ever for me.

Getting in and out had been a breeze,

but, it wasn't a breeze this time.

There was a line.

There had NEVER been a line to vote before.

I signed my ticket, got my card,

and stepped to the back of the line.

Normally, I hate standing in line

more than I would hate

bashing my head against a wall.

But, this was like sitting in a traffic jam

on a road I had breezed by many times,

and noticing, for the first time,

the details of houses and landscapes

I hadn't been able to experience in my haste.

The lady in front of me asked me

to hold her place in line

while she looked at the election guide.

I gave her a 'pssst' when a machine was free

and it was her turn to vote.

I couldn't give any details of past votes,

or, of past voting precincts.

I'll likely never forget the feeling

of seeing that line to vote.

I knew then that something was happening.

I knew right away that, this time,

voting wasn't going to be a breeze.



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