Will not be denied!

Opportunity abounds, ex-con branded
Applications skimmed, interview denied
Doors slammed shut, stonewall stranded

Self-esteem battered, determination resilient
Prejudice enacted, diving through open-windows
Black-balled, escorted out, will not remain silent

Gathered a stick, cardboard, tape, inked a message
Occupy now, rest later, fist in air
Posted on every corner, following an irrepressible linage

Cheers!

Behind steely eyes and half smiles, hides a deep psychic schism
Daily situations trigger flashbacks of childhood horrors
Tormentor’s misdeeds alive after years of absenteeism

Abused boys evolve into men imploding, exploding in callous immure
Learned helplessness infectious, authorities ignored multicolor signs
Healing snail paced, forever a victim of the vilely impure

Legalized narcotics fail to quell violent inward aggressions
Middle fingers to false protectors, pour shots of 100 proof liquor
Embracing alcohol's bliss, a respite from haunting trangressions

Job in a box!

Clock ticks, tocks, mocks
Little hand points south, derisive laughter
Big hand points north, opportunity balks

Apathy aphyxiates, ambition pale blue
Mediocrity laughs in the mirror in slack-jawed sneers
Aspirations limp, pipedreams skewed

Change laughable, an intangible abstraction
Thoughts molder, mood shiftless, spirit decays
Complacency consumes, entombed in rank stagnation