Abigail Byrd

To vote, or not to vote: that is the question

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to accept

Either outcome of this election, both unfortunate,

Or take arms against the lesser of two evils,

And by opposing, hope to end one. To join, to speak-

That day- and by speaking attempt to curb the very course of history,

Voice however small, rising against the tide of partisan politics

Which by defying logic and truth attempt to run our world! ‘Tis a situation

Devoutly to be wished against. To join, to speak-

To speak- perchance to choose: ay, there’s the rub,

For in that choice of commander-in-chief what toils may come.

In being forced to appoint a mortal, most unideal

We must give pause. Growing dissent regarding common good

Makes the calamity of outcomes both equally rife:

For who would bear the issues of the current day,

The environment’s wrongs, the proud man’s conceal-and-carry,

The equality of love, the law enforcement's lack of delay,

The injustice of immigration, and the increasingly escalating cost

That patients still manage due to ineffective health care?

When neither he nor she inspire passion or even satisfaction

In the hearts and minds of their collective representation,

When glaring flaws overshadow the substance of their actual politics,

We look towards our future with doubt.

Which puppet will better bear the ills we have,

As well as ones we know not of yet?

And will casting a ballot prove advantageous

To standing idly by, hurling towards the undiscovered country

On the backs of the electorate? There is no true answer.

Thus the nation’s hue of democratic process

Is sicklied o’er on the pale cast of November 8th,

And even those of great passion and movement

With regard and indecisiveness turn awry

And question their means of action.