In truth, only five foot three and a half,
_____and attack, too, a bit of a stretch,
although I do wield an oversized clipboard,
_____8 ½ by 14-inch petitions,
and—here, at my local farmers’ market—
_____it does feel somewhat brave,
deploying my rapid-fire Hello—would you
_____like to sign a ballot initiative
to make voting more accessible for citizens
_____in Michigan?—asking anyone
who seems interested, including that guy,
_____a minute ago, who marched over
in his Love It or Leave It American flag
_____baseball cap, who shot back
at me: No way should voting be easy!
_____He must have seen my smile
grow large as I turned to a young woman,
_____smiling back, as I aimed
the petition to face her. And now I grip
_____the clipboard tight, prop it up
on my forearms, balance it between us,
_____watch her—slowly, carefully pen
her name, as though signing up for duty
_____in the middle of a battlefield.
