middle age .

grey face , grey life , grey brain
evolution of the pessimist
optimism washed down the drain
and the bandwagon of life rolls on
gatecrashed by the uninvited
let me join the party
not friggin' likely

couch potato
on an installment plan sofa
satellite eyes
and a belly full of shite
and matalan fashion
two sizes too tight
life in the horizontal plane
wearied from the fight

and the money that he earns
does evaporating tricks
pays all the bills
in a chorus of online clicks
pinned all his hopes
in a pile of mortgaged bricks
success passed him by
and the thought makes him sick

twenty years of turbulence
and then she jacked him
for another man
just left with bitter memories
and a child access ban
and a nervous twitch
broken promises
and empty hands

he thinks of early retirement
and pension schemes
of slowly retreating
and going to seed
of how he took a place
in the rat race
and watched his ulcers bleed
of how his utopian dreams
were shattered
by the midnight screams

too late now
to have another go
and the stones weigh heavy
on the rocky road
more time gone
than what remains
too late in life
to stake new claims
overdosed on sympathy
craving shame

the world looks too young
he looks too old
like something in the fridge
forgotten about
and growing mould
frigid and cold
he's intimidated
by a new generation of brash
too loud , too bold

He reacts on impulse
but his timing is late
head down and beaten
into second place
resigned to his fate
and the crisis surrounds him
in apathetic fog
sheathed in hate
drowning in life
clutching at days
waiting at life's final crossroads
unsure of the way .