Opportunity is a Day Dream in the Ghetto Head

The neighbor next door had a job making razor blades.

She made a living wage.

They shipped her job overseas -

Less regulation,

Fewer fees.

Now they can pay their workers less than minimum wage,

And we wonder why Americans are feeling betrayed and rage

In this greedy golden age?

Now she has a factory job making 60% less

With harder work and more stress,

No health insurance.

They keep her working as a temp.

She works overtime to cover the rent.

I see it in my city.

I see it in my town -

Factories shut down,

Foreclosed homes,

Closed plazas off to the side of the road.

No jobs with a living wage.

No way to turn a page.

No way to gauge

If you can escape

Working till death to get paid.

You feel like the corporate maid,

Underpaid in a corporate cage.

Minimum wage

Barely pays the rent.

No extra money spent

On clothes and food.

Worry and dread become a normal mood.

Homelessness on the streets has increased.

Cardboard signs -

“Need money to eat!”

Faces deplete.

You can see the defeat,

Depression,

Despair.

No one is there.

No one cares.

They keep their belongings in a shopping cart

Not too far from the Wal-Mart,

Wondering aimlessly apart.

They are the American broken-hearted,

Almost considered departed.

And many are our protectors,

Our soldiers,

Our vets.

And they’d take a bullet for you without regret!

I saw a little boy

With ratted hair

And dirty clothes

Up the road.

I wonder if he has a home,

Or if he comes from a broken home…

If his daddy is gone,

Or if his mommy is strong.

I see him walking after dark.

I wonder if he has ever had that spark

Or is he becoming a shark?

I wonder if he has anyone with anything positive to say

To give hope to overcome this poverty someday.

Or will he end up getting addicted to crack or meth,

Or live a life of crime and theft,

Or end up in prison or dead.

Opportunity is a daydream in the ghetto head.