Howard Firkin
Comrades! The call to strike is a mistake!
All right, we’re all aware the vote will go
against me … Stop yammering and let me take
a moment of your time to tell you so.
      These moonlit autumn nights are dangerous.
Nobody doubts your motives. We all feel
the cold, rough tongue of winter through our coats.
You cry for change and I applaud your zeal,
but seasons change without regard for votes,
      and winter will remain a plague on us.

There was a time I could have held the floor.
I fought and fornicated… now I sleep.
I’m finished. Have your vote. You’ll learn for sure:
cat food is still expensive, mouse traps cheap.