Nobody Is There To Listen Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Choosing to sustain, maintain and keep their livelihoods,
They did what most conformed people do!
They chose to create no waves.

They kept their mouths closed.
Perceiving they would keep their beliefs intact.
Perceiving themselves to be envied.
And their way of life...
Safe.
If they just played the game and rolled along...
As followers.
to muffle if not silence any disagreements.

And of course...
Many thought they would gain favor,
If they became the model of a teamplayer.
With the giving of incentives for their efforts.

'And our choice for the employee of the month,
Goes to...'

Today?
That game they played is over.
And many protest in anger.
Their obsession with loyalities have been repossessed.
And many are vocal as they protest.

Today?
Nobody is there or expresses they care...
Who amongst them has followed to achieve,
Years of documented devotion and loyalty

Today?
They are just in the way.
Like in those days when they were paid...
To ignore the cries of others.

What a difference not having a paycheck makes!
And nobody is there to listen or even care...
Who now 'whines' about their lives.
When everybody knows they are too lazy to work or find a job.
And all they want to do is sit at home, watch TV and collect welfare.

'That's true, isn't it?
That's what we've been always told to believe.
And...
If they didn't like it 'here',
Why don't they go back where they came from? '