off the streets

your left hand urges
your right hand to do
the right thing,
to pull the right lever
and vote
with a conscience.
it's a tug of war,
within yourself,
to be good, or indifferent,
rarely bad.
apathy seems to reign
within you
on many issues.
your political heroes
are all dead
and too much time has passed
to care deeply
about the unchangeable.
your marching days
on the street are over,
in mothballs.
in the closet with your
end the war
placards, you know now,
the folly of such
youthful desires.