Your Vote

 

 

Personal, Private & Powerful!

The significance of your vote,

It carries a tremendous responsibility;

Fellow Barbadians, Take note!

 

There is one vote per person:

Only one belongs to you,

It is a personal vote, therefore,

You decide what to do.

 

No one can cast it for you

Hence, you must cast it in person,

And having cast your only vote

For you the matter is done.

 

It is really a private matter

And should be treated as such,

None needs feel they can buy it

It’s not a matter of how much.

 

Make no promises to any one

Your vote is not for sale,

And any who tries to coerce you

Report them without fail.

 

A vote is a powerful medium

In that it gives you a say,

It says that you are important

If only for one day.

 

It’s the power that you have,

Though in a moment it is gone!

Then you must wait for five years

Before you get another one.

 

Unless of course,

With a year and a half short,

The command from the General

Is a command to abort.

 

And so, you get a chance

To cast your vote again,

To elect a totally new Government

Or let the incumbent remain.

 

I am still quite baffled

As to why this election was called,

I heard what the PM said

But that cannot be all.

 

Given the huge vote of confidence

Only three and half years ago,

It is not making sense

But that’s just my say so.

 

A new mandate, in my view,

Was not necessary at this time,

Fulfilling one’s manifesto promises

Must be paramount in one’s mind.

 

Five years is an elected term:

Not one and half years short,

It is like kind of abandoning ship

Or something of that sort.

 

What will a new mandate change?

It is likely to be no change

And whatever it was that occurred,

Is likely to happen again.

 

I trust it won’t be thirty-nil

We can’t take that again,

Too much power in one party’s hand

Is likely to cause us pain.

 

So, B’s cast your votes

And D’s, you cast your votes too,

And all of the other parties

Do what you have to do!

 

And those who are undecided

That is your option too,

Do not let anyone ridicule you

If voting is not your view.

 

Personal, Private & Powerful!

The significance of your vote,

It carries a tremendous responsibility;

Fellow Barbadians, Take note!

 

Stewart Russell © January 14, 2022