Instructions for Voters

Good evening In a few moments, the polls will close And Britain will begin once again The familiar, exacting business Of deciding who shall govern in its name Across the country, in halls, schools, churches Sports centres and municipal rooms Lit with the same patient fluorescence as previous eras the machinery of public choice prepares itself for another night of constitutional clarity The posters flap on borrowed gates The rosettes wait by folding tables The pencils lean beside the string The boxes stand like minor altars The banners promise calm and change The faces promise less than that The country clears its throat again And calls the ritual intact The roads are wet The slogans dry The cameras warm the evening sky The volunteers rehearse belief In careful coats against the brief And every hall in every ward Prepares the same laminated word: Please wait here Please stand clear Please have your papers ready here Instructions for voters Follow the line Make your mark In the box provided One nation enters One at a time Quietly guided Calmly divided Instructions for voters This way please Mind the threshold Mind the tone Mind the wording Mind the queue And when the country speaks tonight It will be taken down in full And rendered clear to you The parties fan their different maps Like weather charts or warning leaflets The old ones wear their damage well The new ones call it honest weakness A hundred practiced candidate smiles A thousand softly sharpened claims The air is full of borrowed futures All addressed in proper names A measured voice A polished hand A promise trimmed to suit demand A local grief A national cue A phrase made broad enough for two And somewhere in the deepening blue A verdict waits to be made true Please wait here Please stand still The nation has its habits still Instructions for voters Follow the line Make your mark In the box provided One nation enters One at a time Patiently sorted Softly recited Instructions for voters Hold your place Mind the distance Mind the pace Mind the crossing Mind the door And if the language sounds the same As many nights that came before That is what language is for There was a time Or so they said When words arrived before the spread When winners won And losers knew And all the maps meant what they drew Tonight the lights come on the same The rooms are hired in England's name The signs are straight The floor is swept The forms are filed The faith is kept Please wait here Please proceed Please declare what you believe Please remain Within the line Please reduce your will to sign Please be calm Please be clear Please confirm that you are here Please stand by Please attend Please select the least absurd end Instructions for voters Follow the line Make your mark In the box provided One nation enters One at a time Formally counted Neatly divided Instructions for voters This way please Through the doorway To the choice To the phrase To the tally To the night And when the country speaks at last We shall, with patience, care and light Explain what it has said tonight