Joel Hawksley Poet Acrostic

Notes About The Poem

Acrostic:  When read vertically, the first letter of each line spells "gerrymandering."

 

Petrarchan Sonnet Structure:

-  Rhyme Scheme: The first eight lines follow ABBA ABBA, while the last six follow CDE CDE.

-  Subject: The theme of reapportionment every ten years is explored through the manipulation of districts for political gain, which ties into the idea of gerrymandering.

 

Flow:  Each quatrain and tercet transitions smoothly, adhering to the thematic focus of how maps and districts are redrawn to influence elections.

Listen to poem:

Gerrymandering

Gather the maps, divide the lines with care,
Every decade brings new charts to trace,
Remember how the shifting votes displace,
Right to select who governs, free and fair.

Yet borders twist, reform beyond compare,
Moving in silence, shaping every place.
At times, it seems a never-ending race,
New rules decide which voices have to bear.

Districts are carved to strengthen or to break,
Elections bend beneath the subtle hand.
Rare is the claim of justice clear and bright,

In corridors where shadows often wake,
Not by the will of people do they stand,
Gaming the seats, they steal away our right.

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