Dance of Ballots

Papers flutter
Voices rise
An echo chamber...
Promises slip
Like smoke through fingers

Do you see the puppets?

Strings pulled tight by unseen hands

They smile
They nod

Masks worn tight
Faces painted bright
Hope and doubt
In a dance
Step to the rhythm
A ticking clock
What is truth?
What is a trick?

Numbers churn
Lights flash
...crescendo
...silence
the curtain falls
Who won?
Who lost?
Just shadows
In the glow