Kristen's Vote
Children ask questions by the dozen and our many answers are usually followed by ‘Why?’ But one young lady, a certain Miss Kristen Treeby – pictured right – is known for asking the most telling questions at the most awkward of times. Such as when she went to help her dad cast his vote in the recent local Council elections.
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Kristen’s Vote
I’m standing in the poll booth
With ballot slip in hand,
I’ve come to place my mark
And vote in ‘Council Land’.
And with me is my daughter
The apple of my eye,
And tugging at my coat
She asks the question ‘Why?’
She wants to know the reason
We’re standing here today,
She’d rather be outside
And sunshine games to play.
I smile and hold her hand
And say I’ll not take long,
But when I see her face
To wait would be so wrong.
She asks me ‘What is vote?’
And waits for my reply,
And though she’s only four
To answer I must try.
‘The Country must be run
By people tried and true,
There’s some that we can trust
But others just won’t do’.
‘Daddy, what’s the Country?’
A frown upon her brow,
An explanation’s needed
And it is needed now.
‘The Country’s where we live,
The home of Big Ben fame,
It’s in the British Isles
And England is its name.
Her little eyes are dancing,
Her voice is sharp and clear,
She says that she likes England
And gives a ‘Come on England’ cheer.
I start to tell my darling
Exactly what I mean,
That she is thinking of
Our Country’s football team.
The next thing she blurts out
Is wisdom at its best,
‘Well, I vote for Port Vale
‘Cause they’re better than the rest’.
I tell you folks I’m beaming,
I’m truly in a whirl,
And God I’ve got to tell you
I love my little girl.
Barry Edge
Western Australia
July 2, 2004
🙂