The Ballot Box.
The boxes cannot claim they are overworked.
Most of their time is spent in secure storage.
At Election times, they become the focus of attention.
Removed from their storage prison,
Out on license. To do their duty.
They are dusted off, locks checked, dispatched
to become the “Main Feature” at Polling Stations.
People of every political persuasion mark
their cross on the Ballot Paper, fold it,
so no one can see the mark they have made.
Some hesitantly, some excited, some have
“Done it before”. They approach the Ballot Box
on the table, to post their precious Vote,
through the slot, in the top of the box.
The voting papers held safe inside the dark box.
Keep the secret of each and every Voter.
The climax of the boxes’ day comes at the Count.
Where they are emptied of the anonymous votes
are then verified, counted and maybe re-counted.
boxes, redundant again, are loaded for the return to storage.
Note: The first wooden Ballot Box is kept at
Pontefract Museum, West Yorkshire.
No comments:
Post a Comment