by Lavinia Kumar
If Cornelia Fassett were here today,
she’d have painted a disputed election even larger.
The piece would have Facebook friends and tweets,
shown her Supreme Court chamber streamed live to millions.
Samuel Tilden won many more votes
but Rutherford Hayes fought the Electoral tally—
with twenty Electoral votes too short
he claimed voter intimidation and all sorts of fraud.
A Commission stood to create a miracle,
and debated nine days about voters in four states.
And, lo, they sought and found the needed,
which switched the Electoral College to Republican.
Ah, yes, it is said that history repeats,
but ghosts will tell that is not true of miracles.
Lavinia Kumar is currently interested in writing of unsung women of the past, Her poetry has appeared in US, Irish, & UK publications. Her books include Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Women, Women: Soldiers, Spies of Revolutionary and Civil Wars and No Longer Silent Women: the Silk and Iron of Women Scientists.
