Day 357

Entitled

How dare you accuse me of being lazy?
How dare you blame me for our governments failures?
Am I not a part of this society just like you ?
Do I not warrant a little help just like you?
Who are you to judge me from your comfy chair in your warm house?
Who are you to criticize me in my cold apartment?

I am not here because I like it.
I am not here because I haven't tried to leave.

I am here because this
mold-ridden,
rat infested,
broken elevator,
no heat,
roach trap
of a 20 story
prison cell
is all I can afford.

I take the money because
my children
will go hungry
if I don't
because their father died
serving our country
and now I am alone.

What would you do if
you woke up one morning
with a dead husband,
three children,
and you barely earned
enough to pay the electric bill
when that's all you had to pay?

What would you do if
the only thing
keeping your children fed
and a roof over their head
was a meager $500 a month?

I don't take the money because
I'm greedy or lazy or don't want to better myself.
I take it because I need it.

Why must you shame me
when I'm already on my knees?