Faithless Elector

Faithless Elector,
Why did you break your vow to me?
You say above all principles you value liberty
You’ve made your declaration
Of all burdens you are free
But now here comes the hard part, as you’ll learn eventually

When all the day’s parades trail off in silence and in spite
And the promises you made fade like confetti in the night
Your conscience might be clear, but whose false hope did you ignite?

When will you gather
In that city on the hill
To cast your final ballot and bend others to your will?
The lights below you gleam
Like scattered fires on a field
Too far away to separate the injured from the killed

But if one voice makes a difference, will you flee or join the fight?
And if you’re not really faithless, will you stay with me tonight?
And if you are, don’t tell me, I’ve got secrets of my own
Faithless Elector, when I wake, will you be gone
To pledge allegiance to somebody else
Or to yourself alone?

Rich benefactors
Offer counsel on your vote
Tho’ they preach a Constitution that they’ve memorized by rote
I see you at town meetings
Ready with another quote
Perfect for a bumper sticker or a quick clandestine note

Faithless Elector,
You told the truth for our own good
But waited till the time was right to show your gratitude
You say the laws we live by
Are imperfect like the men
And women who conceived them, so you’re leaving me again

Holding back the truth’s not hard after the first time that you do
Let the party banners shimmer when the spotlight passes through
I guess everyone looks different when you change your point of view
Faithless elector, am I finally reaching you?

If nothing makes a difference, what’s the reason that we fight
And if faith itself is obsolete, what’s left for us tonight
Just the painful consolations of a future that’s unknown
Faithless Elector, when I wake, will you be gone
To pledge allegiance to some higher cause
Or to yourself alone?

And if words don’t make a difference, will you stay or book a flight
To some undisclosed location in the middle of the night?
Did you learn the secret handshake in the pyramid of light?
Faithless Elector, are your articles of faith
Worth all the pen-strokes and the parchment
They were written on?

Faithless elector

Note:
An "elector" is a member of the U.S. electoral college--usually a political appointee or party activist. Electors meet in December after each Presidential election to officially cast their ballots. A "faithless elector" is a member of the electoral college who casts a vote for someone other than the candidate he or she is pledged to vote for--in other words, they broke their vow & proved themselves "faithless."