Whistleblower Status, Check By Check

Part I

after seven years of the night shift, my body has said eff it.
all this has really tormented me
i do not wish to lose my thirties the same way my twenties departed - on the clock,
at a heavily discounted rate.
i've proven my talents/leadership/knowledge time and time again only to be rebuffed on payday
and worse, a brother can't land a new role around here utilizing said talents/leadership/knowledge
i know i'm a lousy interview, but really?!!
i can't get better if i'm not granted the opportunity.
surely in 2014, the dark skin and baritone voice aren't seen as deterrents:
my afro has been shorn of its locks
- hey, i'm not dangerous angry black man all the time, just enough of it.
you'll get me for who i am and what i know, nothing else.

Part II

what really grinds my goat is the blatant lack of ethics by my employer.
there is no consistency in how rules are applied
the favoritism is so obvious the three blind mice can see it
one can be lied to without an eye batted or quick stutter more to defend said falsehood
my job feels like a good ol' boys club
i expect to be relieved soon because i'm not a card carrying member
despite not missing a day of work the two years i've been here
and performing up to snuff.
hell, i even rewrote the training guide for my role!
unfortunately, i live in place that does not reward intellectual property
hence, back to survival mode.

Part III

even if i won't admit it, we're just getting by.
property taxes have increased
food prices keep rising
gas is an unmentionable expletive
yet our pay is stagnant.
how can i help our economy improve when i don't have anything to begin with?
it's a downer of being in the working poor
our pittance is enough from one payday to the next
saving is a bigger challenge although not (yet) insurmountable
retirement is the ultimate pipe dream that i may not live long enough to realize
even without the plastic, there's a home and two car payments that need to be made
no one put a gun to our heads and said buy the malibu and tacoma
(well, not the toyota anyway)
but we needed newer cars to get to work.

Part IV

so here we are...
living on faith, a prayer, and overtime
will it get better? Lord knows, but i don't
no one wants to struggle to get by
least of all me.
my legacy doesn't need to be one of merely existing
we're better than that.
payday will come and go, then back to thirteen days of struggle
surviving til the next one is the goal.