Charles Bernstein “On Election Day”

This poem exposes the practices and behaviors that are conducted during an election day. In the poem, Bernstein shows that people are classified under two categories: one range of people engages themselves in the election and its consequences, while the other looks at it as any other normal day. The poem reveals that the election day is a normal one for women and children because “The sister does her washing, on election day,” and “the children sleep alone in bed, on election day.” These lines indicate that some women stick to their domestic work while others leave their children sleeping alone in their beds to participate in the election. The poem, in the line, “The men prepare for dying,” indicates that most men involve themselves in that process except those who have special occasions such as mourning.

This poem engages the language of politics where the poem’s atmosphere expresses the poet’s disgust and resentment of some outrageous practices that stand out in that day in order to achieve personal interests. In the poem, Bernstein rebels against the political and social hypocrisy that accompany this important event, which is eagerly awaited by people in order to make the change. The poet provides chaos and a subverted atmosphere from the beginning when saying, “I hear democracy weep, on election day.” I do not think democracy in this line is weeping because of happiness since the following lines do not provide this impression; therefore, we expect something wrong are taking place alongside the election. The birth of democracy, in the poem, is accompanied with sadness and wailing because the election does not yield satisfactory results due to the hypocrisy that accompanies this process. Bernstein does not leave the reader lost or confused about the reasons of the democracy’s sadness instead of its happiness and joy in that day. The third line clarifies that equality does not mean justice sometimes because “The miscreant’s vote the same as saint’s, on election day.” This line is full of fear that the miscreants and scoundrels’ votes may outweigh, this subverts the happiness of democracy. Much subversion takes place in that day; the rest of the poem provides many examples on those practices as “The liar lies with the lamb,” and “The ghosts wear suits.”

The poem is loaded with political concerns which all of people suffer their negative effects in their daily lives. I think that Bernstein is generalizing his experience to all nations. I am not sure if he is addressing a certain nation. But it seems that what happens in elections is the same in many places and can be extended to all countries. Bernstein employs poetry to express his deep thoughts toward breaching and violating the principles that things were built on. Bernstein in this line, “I feel like a nightmare is ending but can’t wake up, on election day,” hopes that the chaotic situation reaches its end, but he thinks that there is much time to materialize his dream. He intends to transcend himself from the nightmare consternation to the dream exhilaration, and to transcend the bad manners that affect the election ceremony to the supreme.