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I Am Ohio
by Dan KastenWith a soundtrack driven by Springsteen
every television you buy marks us a poster child, a cliché
we live here
we know how tough times are
we are uncomplicated but not uninformed
if conversation is merely the convergence of monologues
then where are the commercials showing the beautiful fall colors
of people who would feed you and pray for your well-being
of smiles of kids on hay rides
of stands full of football fans
no fan of politics, Michael Stipe told me
that when he meets a stranger he always looks at his shoes
were you more savvy and dropped in long enough to roll up your sleeves
youÂ’d see that no one around here can afford those shoes you wear
if we sent you off to Washington weÂ’d expect you to buy more sensible oneÂ’s anyway
shoes that bear witness to how truth in numbers get stronger with each lie you tell
shoes that make you care more than for the ninety days prior to an election
shoes that have you asking yourself at the end of the day why you keep returning
when we have survived just fine by asking nothing more than what you can deliver.
10/26/2008 Author's Note: The second of three poems portraying the presidential campaigns currently happening in Ohio.
At the end of the day, I'll forget your name
I'd like it here if I could leave and see you from a long way away –
“Good Advices” REM
Posted on 10/26/2008
Copyright © 2025 Dan Kasten
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Maria Francesca on 10/26/08 at 09:45 PM Interesting how they like to box us voters up in neat little packages by income, religion, region and a thousand other ways that are inherently insulting in the way they make us all stereotypes instead of thinking people. Nice expression of that. :) |
| Posted by Graeme Fielden on 10/29/08 at 11:54 AM nice to see your insightful, poetic commentary back on the airwaves, mate. american politics scares and fascinates me in one breath... the beer and circus' seem to revolve endlessly... amazing! but then again, rocky xxii will probably be a blockbuster... has logic become an elitist ideologue? |
| Posted by Kristi Paik on 10/29/08 at 04:49 PM "when we have survived just fine by asking nothing more than what you can deliver" Great line and very true. Great write Dan, as always :)
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| Posted by Susan Q Tomas on 09/17/09 at 05:42 AM Forget my name. |
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