You took me to the mountain's top.
Showed me the Eagle's lair
I saw him soar…
Realized at that moment…
That I am not the machine.
No!
Not the machine…
That they would have me be.
No!
Not the smoke belching havoc producing sound piercing Machine
That they would have me be.The Eagle soared on wings out stretched.
Lifted high by the winds aloft.
I too…
Shall soar High above the machine.
For I am not the machine…
No!
Not the Machine that they would have me be.

 

Auto Plantation

You either in or out.
It never leaves you.
Selling yourself…
Like a cheap whore.

Should be no racism…
Among brothers.

The man…
Treats us all
Equal.
Provokes us all…
Equal.
All equal…
Niggas.

Anyone that works here
Knows what it means…
To be a Nigga.
Skin color…
Don't matta.

First word…
In plantation…
Is plant.

How much…
Did you do…
For the Master today?

That's the way it is.
Ain't never gonna change.
It's just…
The way…
The Man wants it.

 

THE MACHINE GRINDS ON

 

My wife tells me all I do is yell.
I yell at riley…
She barks because she is happy.
I yell because its noise.
More Noise
Factory Noise
So bad…
Im losing my hearing.
My ears have Cicadas buzzing
all the time.

Work makes me angry.
It's all so pointless.
I do whatever I can
To slip between the cracks.
To be invisible
So they don't notice me…
But I'm different.
Im a Poet…
And they sense that I don't fit.
My Diabetes…
Makes me stick out like a sore thumb.
I wear sneakers…
Against someone's rules.
We must be all alike
All the same
Just like the assembly line parts.

So…I'm in trouble…
Right away.
My asshole foreman…
fits right in…
on the assembly line.
Not an original thought
In his head.
Just like the parts
Going down the line
All the same.
Hears but doesn't listen.
Acts but doesn't do a thing
Makes no difference.

My wife says I yell
All the time
My speech profane…
Dirty gutter like…
The factory floor.
I don't want to be like this.
Not gonna be like this anymore.
Im breaking out!

My friend at school
Her dad works for GM
He yells all the time too.
She hates him…
Her own dad…
Her mom wants a divorce.
Not gonna be that way.
Im breaking out!

I don't want
My life ruined by work
Yes,
I have to work…
But im nobody's slave
Don't want my wife and kids
Hating me
For the American dream.

I try hard to be better
I try hard to change
But it grinds me down and down.

I hate that place…
And what it has done to my life.
She is at her wits end…
But the money is good.
Things are finally halfway decent
And I hate it there.
I get ill before work
Crying on the drive in…
How many more are
Walking Wounded
Like me.
All for Corporate greed
Stock Prices
And the Bottom Line.

Where does it begin…
And where does it end?
Mandatory overtime.
We believe in family values
But we are sorry…
No quality family time this week…
Detroit needs the parts
So we force you to work
This weekend…
Again.

Here...
Take this money…
Your family will use it
While you
Wither
Grow old
And Die
In the summer heat of the plant.

I wonder if the consumer knows
How many dysfunctional
Walking wounded
Workers
It takes to build these sleek SUV's

I can't be the only one
Feeling this way.
My body aches
My mind is tortured
By this incessant noise.
Make another part
Hurry Hurry
Never ending
I hope my family forgives me.
I hope they remember who I am.

Most think that production is automated.
Yeah right!
Human Machines
Blown out elbows
Wrists
And backs.

Hell…
Get another interchangeable worker
To fit in the machine.
Toss out the broken worker.
Put in a new…
But don't miss a piece.
The machine grinds on
And grinds us all
Into the ground.