Bargain Price

Young dreams die for a bargain price,

Out of a job for years in my prime,

Victimized by high-class hard stares,

Underrated by peers.

Born before my time.

Hardly recognized,

Fragments of peace achieved by a fight.

My thoughts are a conflict.

My imaginations are about war.

My very feelings afflict me.

The stress I see

Is greater than men could perceive,

It’s the promise of a seed

That increases the loss I grieve.

Akpan