Taking The 'Arian' Out Of 'Authoritarian'

Whoever becomes the next president
of the United States, everyone knows
that they will have immense power
and they will need all the human skills
that could be accumulated in one person
to manage the complex levers of power
integral to the running of American Democracy.

Whoever wins the most votes in the electoral college
they will seem authoritarian and on the wrong side
to a substantial minority of voters, who will want
'once and for all' the question of race to be decided.

But whether a non-white woman wins the popular vote
and the electoral college or an elderly man wins both
for the first time in his history of standing for office
neither will be the last word on the matter of race.

They will be the last word until the next election,
surely be his last, the campaign cycle for which
begins fairly soon after the winner's inauguration.