Electors
When the smoke rises properly, you get a new pope
When the entrails slide into the grass, we pick a new chief
You have to grow up with reasons to learn how to give them control of your life
Sometimes voted in – sometimes born to it
Thrown chicken bones tell who is in charge
She comes out of the crowd and plants one on you
Now they are all your problems
The church selects – elders or preachers ordain
Pull out the dice and call it good
Sacred crap shoot of inspiration
but we needed a system
and I’d trust the stars
before I’d trust you
Tony Brewer is a poet and audio artist from Bloomington, Indiana, where he is executive director of the Spoken Word Stage at the 4th Street Art Festival. He has published 13 books and chapbooks, most recently Good Job, Lightning (Stubborn Mule Press) and Water Witch (Pure Sleeze Press). He has been offering Poetry On Demand at coffeehouses, museums, cemeteries, churches, bars, and festivals for over fifteen years and was named Indiana’s 2024 Literary Champion by the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards. More at linktr.ee/TonyBrewer.
