democracy****

democracy****

“yes, democracy, ‘people power!’

now you get a say over the ivory tower

please note that this comes with some terms and conditions

but if you’ll sign here, we’ll give our recognition”

as a good liberal, you never refrain

from reading what a voluntary contract contains

excited, you rifle through to read the fine print

and notice small symbols as you go to squint

“democracy*,” it says

“*OFFER DOES NOT EXTEND TO FELONS”

no problem, you think

if we get to choose

who goes to the brink

then this can’t be abused

“democracy**,” you read

“**NOR TO MIGRANT FARMWORKERS ON H-1B OR H-2B VISAS”

of course! after all, this isn’t their home

they can go vote back where they belong!

we offer good jobs, for that they should be grateful

in return, we only get the fruits of their labor!

“democracy***,” okay, what now? you start to think

“***MUST HAVE A REAL OR PICTURE ID”

you look up, confused, and ask what that means

“don’t worry!” they tell you, “it’s very routine”

“we just need to know that you are who you seem!”

you start to wonder where you put your birth certificate…

“democracy****”

let’s break it down

the United States of America, population of 332 million

minus 4.6 million with a felony conviction

minus 45.3 million from another place of origin

minus 13 million without citizenship documents

minus 32 million divorcees with the wrong last name on their papers

minus,

minus,

minus…

do you still want to accept

democracy with asterisks?