Renaissance Column

NOVEMBER 1998 | VOL. 2, NO. 6

COLUMNISTS
----------------------
JAMES L. IANNONE

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JAMES L. IANNONE, a native of Mineola, Long Island (NY), is a recent graduate of the Emory University School of Law. While in college studying politics, he incited many heated debates with his controversial student newspaper articles. Iannone lives in Dix Hills, NY.

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Exit Poll
A POEM INSPIRED BY THE ELECTION PROCESS


JAMES L. IANNONE

An old man
Slowly exits the doorway
Having fulfilled his duty once again
In election day.
His face droops
Like melting wax.
The flame flickers in his eyes,
Consuming the end of the wick.

I stop to survey him;
My voice penetrates
The uneasy silence
Enveloping the chilly
Midmorning.

Startled, he rambles
Unintelligible words,
His thoughts meander -
Lucid and maniacal
All at once.

I shy away,
Embarrassed by the spectacle
Unfolding before the bewildered voters,
Thanking him politely,
While planning my escape.

The old man's eyes stab at me,
Piercing a vein in my throat,
Reminding me of my grandfather's
And his lips quiver,
As if he were staring at an apparition
Of his youth.

"Thank you sir,"
I reiterate,
While soliciting
My next interviewee,
Wishing I had the time
To know him
Before the candle burned out.