United Slaves Of America Poem by Jeffrey Obomeghie

Armed with resolve and coffee
Queuing for gas or taxi
Creatures of flesh and bone
Chase gold in temples of steel and stone

The alarm clocks rouse us before sunset
On to the grindstone, the wine press, to pay the debt

We drink too much, drive too fast and race the clock
Hide mistresses, father children out of wedlock
Seeking immortality
We find frailty

We sacrifice our lives for children who will hold us in perfect disdain
Ship us to nursing homes of pain

And wives who will commit adultery
Just to escape marriages of drudgery
We are falling apart beautifully
Exploding gorgeously
Like premature stars in the heavens
We are writing our own tragedy
In which we will play starring roles of malady

In the deaf houses the children raise themselves on cartoons and TV news
While their parents chase love and happiness
And make sacrifices to a god that can never be appeased
To cure a disease that can never be cured