Empty Equality

We are born at the bottom, 

we are raised in the trenches. 

Trying to bridge the divide,

while the wealthy put up fences.

We are the lost and forgotten,

we are those that are rarely seen.

Wanting to climb much higher,

but never given the tools or means.

We are the dealers and the delinquents,

we are the addicts and the criminals. 

They might not call us inferior,

but the message is clearly subliminal. 

We are the teenaged mothers,

we are the high school drop outs. 

apparently quitting school to help with bills,

is nothing but a bad cop-out.

They give us SSI and KTAP,

They give us food stamps and medicaid,

Instead of fixing the root of these problems,

they offer us a fucking bandaid. 

We are the low, the dirty and forgotten.

We are the faces of poverty.

We are the inferior class,

In a country that promises equality.