Oh, Manhattan! (2)

In your maze of steel-and-glass skyscrapers,
adorned by neon lights and electronic billboards,
is your bumper-to-bumper traffic,
with honking yellow cabs and black limousines,
mixing their fumes with the aromas
of burgers, hotdogs and salty pretzels,
served daily to your obedient slaves.
Oh, Manhattan!

These lines I wrote in two thousand and nine.
Eight years after, a daredevil girl so bold
Climbs the highest structure like a cat with many lives
And does her yoga pose for the wireless world to behold.

She looks down from where she perches like a hawk
And sees them “cockroaches” scurrying out of their buildings
For their precious lunch and beloved coffee to keep them afloat.
Soon they’re back in their holes like school kids do when the bell rings
And labour four hours more to earn their loaves.

Slaves, roaches, mice… in the hustle and bustle
Of industrialization, commercialization and modernism
They keep the world turning with a muzzle.
As long as there’s a bit of convenience, there’s no schism.

Amortization, credit cards, installment plans,
Fastfood meals, free wi-fi, endless entertainment…
Management knows how to tickle and stop the bands
From forging associations and gaining commitment
From loyal workers who won’t bite a hand.

Biting the hands that feed you is a no-no
For we’d rather keep the status quo
Never mind the colossal divide that we know
We simply turn a blind eye and go, go, go…

We go run the economy that we choose
As long as we’re given a bit of morsel
The unwanted crumbs of the CEOs
Pay our bills, feed our children
Until idealism one day they let loose.
Jamison/06/10/09; 05/21/17