Looking for a job until tears drop

Dawn cracks with the muffled crow of a cock
You stir in bed with a start
After a flash of ice-cold water on your face has sobered you up, you stretch and yawn
Your belly rumbles from emptiness, and you obey its demand for a meal by swallowing saliva.
You grope all the way searching for a job like a hungry eagle that must trap its prey
Underneath your warm armpits is your best buddy: a parcel with a first class academic document: a real gem.
Your first halt is at an office with a glass-tinted door; you crane your neck high and knock softly:
A door creaks, and a deep sigh escapes your lips.
A lady with owl eyes emerges, but stands erect to stare at you
You behold her with pleading eyes until she slams the door in your face,
Ouch! all that glisters is not gold
Bending your head, you retreat like a rose opens to the sun
You console yourself believing your chance to knock
But everywhere you step, same old story.
Your once charcoal-like black trousers desiring a parch are pale and look like withered flowers: a sorry sight
Years come and depart with the wind
You watch officers cruising by in sleek Mercedes Benzes, with protruding bellies that resemble a frog that has swallowed a snake
Your now malnourished skeletal body tries to bury its envy
The yokel eavesdrop in whispers about you the bookman
Their mock is stinging, your dejectedly sink to your knees
And two meandering tears wet your cheeks!

--The Daily Monitor, Monday, August 11, 2003