State of Our Union

 
let’s talk about fear  
of hearing excuses  
for not trying harder  
because all that matters  
 
is that you’re fighting for
yourself and self-respect  
you’re better than this  
you owe it; to grow up  
 
life isn’t fair  
and sometimes  
you have to swallow  
your selfish pride  
 
after a $2 pay cut  
I am still thankful  
to have a full time  
job with benefits  
 
but damned if I’m not  
miffed and expressing it  
right in the face  
of upper management  
 
damn near making  
a fool of myself  
but I’m fuckin doing it  
taking the cut  
 
taking it from the system  
right in my little cunt  
because I’m fucking done  
with excuses; I’m done  
 
scraping by  
when I KNOW  
I am capable  
of more  
 
so I’ll take  
a set-schedule  
and schedule  
some classes  
 
for as long  
as I have to  
until I get a degree  
and declare myself free  
 
because it is  
worth the debt  
because it is  
worth the fight  
 
to break retail  
corporate America  
right over  
its own back  
 
while getting fucked  
in the ass  
I will raise my  
fist against  
 
the excuses  
I’ve fed myself  
and been spoon-fed  
self-righteous bullshit  
 
I’m fucking over it  
and can’t handle  
to hear anyone else’s  
excuses either  
 
my ex-husband  
would call me out  
the cold-hearted bitch  
he knew me as  
 
for expressing such  
need of balance  
 
but I’ll be fucking  
damned if anyone  
thinks there can  
be any balance in  
 
today’s age  
without balancing  
the bank account  
on a regular basis  
 
I no longer feel  
the need to rely  
on others  
have no desire  
 
no more open hands  
if others want  
to help out  
then too fuckin bad  
 
don’t give me  
your goddamn excuses  
when I’ve had to learn  
the fucking hard way  
 
that supporting yourself  
is all you have in this world  
I will no longer clean up  
the mess if you can’t