The Measure of Democracy

Elections do not mean democracy.

A ballot can count every vote

and still leave the people unheard.

We are invited to choose the hands

that will hold the levers,

but not who built the machine,

who owns it,

who profits from its workings,

or who decides where it takes us.

We choose the hands.

Others set the course.

And so, ask more

than whether the ballots were cast,

the numbers counted,

the winner declared.

Ask what remains

in the hands of the people

when the counting is done.

What is a choice

if the boundaries are drawn

before we arrive?

What is democracy

if we may choose the keepers of power

but never question

the architecture of power itself?