Bill's Vote by Payson Sibley Wild
A neighbor asks Bill how he means to vote this November as the two men feed corn to grunting Durocs and a sow that keeps stealing ears from a runt. Bill hedges, noting how unpredictable everyone's politics have become: Doc Garner, who has voted one ticket since 'sixty-nine, now opposes the administration over "ameeba," while Peleg Towle, the paper's longtime editor on the other ticket, wants to stay out of war and distrusts any Congress hatching "tory laws." Pressed again, Bill admits he's from down Mizzoura way, where his Paw voted one ticket as a matter of faith, and though he scorns empty talk of war prosperity and humanity, he's against what he's for. He believes the U.S. must hit hard times—fire, brimstone, and purgatory—before amounting to anything, and reckons his vote is the quickest way to get the country there.
By Payson Sibley Wild · Genre: Political Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Vernacular Poetry · 794 words
First lines
(_November, 1916_)
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Genres
- Political Poetry — The entire poem centers on voting decisions and political choices in the 1916 election, exploring how voters navigate electoral decisions and political identity.
- Narrative Poetry — The work tells a complete story through verse with a clear dramatic arc, from the narrator's question to Bill's full explanation of his voting rationale.
- Vernacular Poetry — The poem is extensively written in rural American dialect with deliberate phonetic spelling and colloquial expressions ('ast' for 'asked', 'Mizzoura' for 'Missouri', 'ter' for 'to').
- American Poetry — The work is rooted in American rural culture and explicitly engages with American political institutions, party politics, and regional identity from the early 20th century.
Tags
politics · voting · 1916 election · rural America · Midwest · farm · narrative poetry · vernacular poetry · dialect poetry · dialogue · American poetry · folk poetry
What this Textopian page supports
Bill's Vote is listed on Textopian as a poem by Payson Sibley Wild, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Payson Sibley Wild
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Political Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Vernacular Poetry, American Poetry, Social Commentary
- Length: 794 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Bill's Vote by Payson Sibley Wild
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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