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“You are tired of pretending to be the authority on democracy
when you believe all governments stink,
some just smell more rank than others.
As you sing the praises of the secret ballot, you pray
that no one will step on newly laid land mines walking to the polling site.

Enjoy this audio recording of “Absentee Ballot” by Willa Schneberg from Vol. 32:1 of CALYX Journal! The poem was originally published in Storytelling in Cambodia (2006, CALYX Books). Buy it here.

Willa Schneberg is a poet, essayist, visual artist, curator and psychotherapist in private practice. She authored five poetry collections including: Box PoemsIn The Margins of The World, recipient of the Oregon Book Award; Storytelling in Cambodia, (CALYX Books); and Rending the Garment. Willa read at the Library of Congress, was a fellow at Yaddo, MacDowell, and the Mudhouse Residency in Crete. Work has been published in numerous publications, including: American Poetry ReviewSalmagundiPoet Lore; Bellevue Literary Review, and CALYX, who published her essay “Where Guests Are Gods: A Poet’s Sojourn in Kathmandu” about her residency in Nepal.