Dead Man Votes in Wayne County, Michigan

By William Palmer

I found an old mask on the ground
and stood in line.

At a table I handed a woman a scrap
of paper with my name on it
and my old address. She scrunched
her face to check it while a big guy
behind her wearing a white mask
with red and blue firearms on it
told her to keep the line moving.
She looked at my old Ford Assembly Plant ID
and the guy told her again but louder.
She handed me a ballot.
I voted for Joe Biden.

I signed my name best I could
then walked out
before my legs caved to dust.

William Palmer’s poetry has appeared in J Journal, Poetry East, and Salamander. He has published two chapbooks—A String of Blue Lights and Humble—and has been interviewed by Grace Cavalieri for The Poet and the Poem from the Library of Congress. He lives in northern Michigan.

Photo by Josh Carter on Unsplash.