’Twas the Night Before Recall

‘Twas the night before Recall, and all through the state
Of Wisconsin were voters who scarcely could wait

The papers were xeroxed and readied with care
In fond hopes of the signatures soon to be there

The children were slumbering, home safely from schools
Which were gutted and cut by Republican ‘tools’

With our Recall Scott Walker sign stuck in the lawn
My wife and I planned to arise with the dawn

And set out, door to door, to those neighbors we knew
Who were just as disgusted at Scooter and Crew

When down from the street there arose such a blast
I thought, Lord, what new hell has the GOP passed?

The November air, once so chilly and quiet
Was filled with excitement; could it be a riot?

A storm, it was breaking; not one from the sky
But a groundswell that rose with a hue and a cry

When what to my wondering eye appear’d at last
But a figure in black from a century past

He marched with a fist raised in manner defiant
While his workers upon ev’ry word were reliant

“On Wausau! On Oshkosh! On Point and Milwaukee!
Kenosha and Ashland! Yes, you too, Pewaukee!

To each office and home, till you reach one and all
Now sign away, sign away, sign to Recall!”

They came from their neighborhoods, came from their jobs,
They came, though reviled as thugs and as slobs

They came from Menasha, Monona and Merrill
They came, for they knew that their state was in peril

There were Waukesha folk, not a lot, it was plain
But they worked with resolve like their county was Dane

Now who was their leader, this fiery speaker
Who roused them when they should grow sullen or weaker?

His clothes were familiar, his stance, it was steel’d
But the night kept his features from being revealed

I awaited the chance when mayhap we would meet
As he solemnly marched up my once-sleepy street

Then … a turn! Now a street lamp! Epiphany in light!
And we saw Bob La Follette returned for the fight!

No ephemeral ghost, but substantial in power
That grew from his minions, was fed by the hour

And at last I could see, and with joy understand
That the Progressive Spirit returned to our land

Then our gaze finally met, dear old Bob’s and my own
And for one beat in time, we were two souls alone

He gave me a smile, I returned it in kind
Though one living, one not, we were of the same mind

As I saw tears a-welling from dusty old lids
I held my wife close, and we thought of our kids

For this task to be done wasn’t for here and now
But for those to come after, so they would see how

We must always be wary and watchful and wise
For greed and corruption takes any disguise

And when given the chance, shapes the world to its wishes
But Wisconsin’s not open to those avaricious

Bob La Follette, he knew it, and now we do too
Though the task is historic, we must see it through

Then Bob gave me a nod, and the night closed around
As he slipped from my view, making nary a sound

But I heard him exclaim as he marched out of sight,
“Happy Recall to all! Never give up the fight!”


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