.

Lest We Forget  

 

Today’s the day I cast my hard-won vote  

(My voice and choice, my prized ancestral gift)  

Bought with guts and grit to stop the bloat 

Of greedy grifters known to scheme and shift 

Their stance to fit the wants of those they ply 

With charm that cloaks their freedom-stealing lie.  

 

Today’s the day I nod to hosts of ghosts 

Who paid for liberty with blood and breath—  

The souls who’ve earned respect—my uppermost:    

Those rows on rows of soldiers snatched by death. 

I will not let their memory turn to dust… 

I’ve lost trust in my vote, but vote I must.  

.

.

Susan Jarvis Bryant has poetry published on Lighten Up Online, Snakeskin, Light, Sparks of Calliope, and Expansive Poetry Online. She also has poetry published in TRINACRIA, Beth Houston’s Extreme Formal Poems anthology, and in Openings (anthologies of poems by Open University Poets in the UK). Susan is the winner of the 2020 International SCP Poetry Competition, and has been nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize.

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22 Responses

  1. Brian Yapko

    Great message on this important day, Susan. And, of course, told with your customary poetic aplomb! Thank you for the reminder of those who sacrificed so that we might be able to exercise this fundamental right. I’ve already voted and am hopeful that our votes will make a difference in restoring our nation to sanity.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Brian, thank you very much. I’m glad you’ve voted and you’re hopeful… I have too! Let’s hope our mood remains joyously buoyant throughout the electoral process… I’m watching closely… let’s hope we don’t have to watch for too long.

      Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Thank you, James… that was my mood when I wrote the poem this morning… since then, I’ve voted and live in hope.

      Reply
  3. Sally Cook

    Good poem, Susan ! Let’s hope it inspires some laggards to get out to the polls. I know you will, as I have done. Do you know some three generations fought together in the Revolution? I’ve some families where that happened.
    Women fought too; in men’s dress.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Thank you very much for your wonderful comment, Sally. Your words explain exactly why I felt the need to cast my vote, and I hope the price our ancestors paid for the privilege of a free voice and choice spurs those who have almost lost faith in the system to summon their last vestiges of hope and do the right thing by those who fought for that right.

      Reply
  5. Julian D. Woodruff

    Thanks, Susan. Here’s hoping that by the end of the day we’ll have made some headway along the lines you suggest.

    Reply
  6. Tonia Kalouria

    As you point out so eloquently, voting is also an homage to our brave vets and something we can– and must– do.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Absolutely, Tonia! My grandparents fought for my freedom in WWII and I owe it to them and others who gave their lives for the freedom they gave me… I am glad they’re not here to see its erosion today. Thank you very much for your comment – it means a lot!

      Reply
  7. Joseph S. Salemi

    I’ve been sick with a bad cold, and I’ve been coughing and hacking. But this morning I dragged myself to my ancestral polling place in Queens County and I cast my vote — the straight Republican-Conservative ticket, and with “NO” for every stupid woke leftist proposal on the ballot.

    I would never have been able to sleep again if I had neglected to vote in this major election.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      That’s the spirit of guts and grit that’s needed and I’m glad to hear you did your bold bit. Here’s wishing you a swift and sure recovery and a successful result!

      Reply
  8. C.B. Anderson

    If for no other reason, Susan, I always vote in order to certify my right to complain about elected officials, though here in Massachusetts it’s barely worth the trouble. I’m sure that Joe S. (in New York) faces the same uphill struggle, but that’s not a good reason not to vote — something we all agree about.

    Reply
  9. Joshua C. Frank

    Great one, as usual! It’s true, it’s hard to get out and vote when there’s no reason to believe it will have any effect… hopefully this will get a few more conservatives to vote for conservative candidates!

    Reply
  10. LTC Roy E. Peterson

    Susan, a very fitting, if melancholy poem for an election day. I have the same feelings. I am voting because of my convictions and for the future of my children and grandchildren.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      I’m with you, LTC Roy E. Peterson. Thank you very much for your comment and your service.

      Reply
  11. robert

    Hey Susan.

    Your words are meaningful, and your thoughts are encouraging. This is one of the few places in the world where votes are an “ancestral gift.” we not only need people to vote, we need people to know exactly what and who they are voting for.

    Your thoughts are beautifully expressed in this poem. The second stanza is like a thunderbolt.

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant

      Robert, thank you very much for your appreciative comment. As a relatively new citizen, this is only the second time I have cast my vote. I have grown to love this country and I respect her history.

      I agree with you when you say: “we not only need people to vote, we need people to know exactly what and who they are voting for.” It is a sad fact that world history has been warped out of all recognition for the students of today. Knowing what it took to build this country could well be the key to future success and happiness.

      Reply

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