'A Man of the People' by Donal Mahoney

A Man of the People
 
It’s not Clyde who sleeps
in a different doorway
every night to avoid
the cops and it’s not
Wayne who sleeps in the
garden shed of the house
he owned until one day
it was repossessed
who can’t decide
who to vote for
this time around.
 
It’s Alvin on his estate
in the suburbs who’s
concerned about weeds
in his garden and his wife’s
yen for furs and diamonds.
He can’t decide who
deserves his vote
in the next election.
 
At the moment Alvin says
he won’t vote for anyone.
But that’s not the case with
Clyde in the doorway
and Wayne in the shed.
They’ll cast write-in votes
for a man with a plan,
someone they say
will stop big spending
and also help the poor,
a man of the people,
Cedric the Entertainer.
They’ll vote for him.
 
 
Donal Mahoney