Dark Gemini Poem by Francis Poole

In ancient astrology
Dark Gemini is the opposite
of its twin Light Gemini.
Dark Gemini is a deceitful huckster,
the patron of thieves
and the inventor of lying.
Incapable of empathy
Dark Gemini cares only for itself
and feels no guilt or remorse
for its actions which harm others.
Its planet is a volcanic asteroid
with a fake smile.
Its porcine eyes resemble pools of tar.
Around its neck it wears a string
of skulls.
Its yellow breath smells of smoke
and excrement.
By now you should know
who I am talking about.
Dark Gemini is like the loose boat
in that Marilyn Monroe movie
drifting and bouncing on the Niagara River
toward the falls and the
deadly rocks below.
The only thing between it
and disaster is a small island
called the election.
We are all standing in that rudderless boat
holding on to whatever we can
hoping to leap clear
at the last minute
and watch as it careens along
in the roiling rapids
and vanishes over the edge
into the foggy mists below.
We cast our votes like we were
throwing each other life preservers.
As if our one vote was going
to keep the planets from
teetering further out of orbit
and cool down feverish Earth
to save the smoking hub
of this wheel.
When you put a mark
with black or blue pen
on your ballot
think of the 230,000
who are voting with you
each making their mark
in a tiny coffin-shaped box.
The dead are watching with our eyes
and listening with our ears.
I think I hear them speak
as one chorus,
Stand back and stand by.

--Francis Poole