The Protest

Jackie goes to bed at night
Beneath the railroad bridge
Sleeps in fifteen minute slots
Upon a steel ledge

The trains above are filled with folk
Who work the downtown towers
They buy esteem, pay for respect
With arrogance and dollars

Race you rats; you run and run
And never stop to see
What's done can never be undone
And you will never be
Anything else under the sun

By day they push and shove their way
Past jackie's upheld palm
They throw some pennies on the street
A task for uncle tom

Then one night jackie'd had enough
He raised a fist on high
A protest from the underground
A prayer up to the sky

Just then the red line hit the bridge
And jackie screamed in pain
The citizens all gathered round
The blood left by that train

The gapers slowed the traffic down
The mayor came to clean and jerk
So no one in his town
No matter what, was late for work

And there the fist lies tween the tracks
A mute and awful sight
The citizens don't know or care
Where jackie sleeps tonight

Race you rats; you run and run
And never stop to see
What's done can never be undone
And you will never be
Anything else under the sun