Unemployment – Written September 1996 (Aged 21)

Unemployment

i don’t want to be a number
on some bureaucrats computer
i want to be a somebody,
maybe even a nine to five commuter
just give me a chance,
i want to work for my self respect
i won’t compromise my pride
just because i do not have a job –
it does not mean i have any less rights
i am entitled to be a human being
i am entitled to a certain amount of respect
there is no romance in sitting around
i’m just getting down,
i am fed up of being treated just like cattle
herded and branded
i want to prove my mettle
but unemployed is what i am
it’s not a social disease
only to those who arrogantly dismiss
like they are the best ones
because they are working,
not everyone chooses unemployment
as some easily opinion
as far as anything personally goes
it’s probably the hardest option
you are a victim of circumstance
i just want to prove myself, i just want a chance

James Garratt – September 1996



More poems at
https://theboybehindtheglasses.com/


More about this blog, The Boy Behind the Glasses, here
https://theboybehindtheglasses.com/2020/01/08/the-boy-behind-the-glasses-an-introduction/


More poems from 1996 here
https://theboybehindtheglasses.com/category/poems-and-writing-1996/