'An Unofficial Poll' by Donal Mahoney

An Unofficial Poll
 
Every time we have a big election
in America, my wife of many years
asks me if I’m going to vote 
in the primary although she knows
I never do because one has to declare
one’s party, something I don’t do.
 
My wife always votes in the primary
and wants to know which party I favor,
a secret I’ve managed to keep hidden
all these years which is probably 
why I’m still married.
 
When I tell her no primary vote for me, 
she takes the next step and asks if 
I were going to vote in her primary, 
which of the two candidates this year
would I vote for. 
 
I realize she wants to know if I’d vote
for the waddling duck or the old roadrunner.
So I buy some time and tell her I’ll have to think
about it and I’ll give her my answer after dinner
because I like dinner and she’s a good cook.
 
After dessert I say if I were going to vote in
her primary, I’d vote for the old roadrunner 
although that has nothing to do with his politics. 
I just like him better than the duck, I say. 
 
And my wife surprises me and says
she's voting for the roadrunner too but 
not to tell any of the neighbor ladies.
They would label her a traitor.
 
Donal Mahoney