Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей)
Why I Voted the Socialist Ticket
I am unjust, but I can strive for justice. My life’s unkind, but I can vote for kindness. I, the unloving, say life should be lovely. I, that am blind, cry out against my blindness. Man is a curious brute — he pets his fancies — Fighting mankind, to win sweet luxury. So he will be, tho’ law be clear as crystal, Tho’ all men plan to live in harmony. Come, let us vote against our human nature, Crying to God in all the polling places To heal our everlasting sinfulness And make us sages with transfigured faces.
Vachel Lindsay’s other poems:
- I Heard Immanuel Singing
- With a Bouquet of Twelve Roses
- The Potatoes’ Dance
- Our Mother Pocahontas
- When Gassy Thompson Struck It Rich
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