Do I have to get out of bed and go to work?

Chip on your shoulder
emotions on your sleeve
you're nervous you're needy
you're so hard to please

some don't have a job
entitlement, is their song
they'll whine even louder
if I don't play along

between a rock and a hard place
there's no where to go
I refuse to enable, yet
it's wrong to judge, I know

I should be pleasant
I should be nice
but mistaking kindness for weakness
is one of many of their vice

I have to call you a customer
and I have no choice
but my taxes pay for most of you
so I should get a voice

some from middle class homes
taught to feel just as entitled
also without coping skills
and character that's vital

The ignorance is blinding
your shame is no more
you take offence so easy
there's no balance to the score

I should look past the behavior
there's no score to count
I used to care to make a difference
now, I just want out

perhaps I'm spiraling inward
and losing my hope
why do I take this so personal
I should be strong, I should cope

This career is not my passion
I feel fearful and alone
I yearn for some empathy
but it's not always found even at home

Stop looking at yourself
and what you don't have
yes, you're right, shame on me
be content, be glad

so onward I tiredly trudge
my face I paint on
memories of dreams far distant
illusions of what could have been

do I have the courage
to face the day
it's my choice, I've read the books
they say walk in joy, find a way

perhaps I'm not alone
with this internal struggle
it's scary to share of feelings
to admit your brain's a'muddle

fear is the master
to break away from
to speak in love, do in love
I'm told the freedom will come

my children see my example
for them I must thrive
in companionship with my spouse
I long to again feel alive

Mid-life crisis perhaps
or time to examine
the way in which I go
will it lead to life, or famine

In stubborn pride I falter
this I must release
in forgetting who I am
perhaps I will find me again, and peace

Free to be me
spontaneous, caring, and chatty
funloving, hard working
lovingly eccentric but not all the way batty

Enough of the rhyming
time to put action to the test
I'll give you the answer
that is the all time best

do your best by your family
keep your friends close,
keep your word and keep it kindly
even to yourself, this may matter the most

focus on the positive,
stay life's course with determination and grit
do things in love regardless
even when you want to say, 'ah, who gives a sh*t!'