Character Poem by Patricia Williams

Come after my character amd see what you can find
The crooks and curves of your investigation are in my mind
I have not been a mean person or defaulted on my promises
I do what I say and I work through my gains and my losses
We look at ourselves through rose-colored constricted glasses
But inspect our fellow man with judgemental microscopic passes

I've never been rich or lived in a fancy house or put on airs
I have worked all my life just climbing the workingman's stairs
I have never scraped and bowed just to get my status ahead
I have worked my hours, paid my bills and been in the red
So come after me with your judgements and your accusations
A worker cannot stop prejudice against age or discriminations

When I look in the mirror I see my own true reflection
The age and the passage of time is staring back at my reaction
I move slower and work harder to come up to my own expectation
And realize that sometimes I am the oldest of all my relations
But I still do my best at my job, even when you think I'm a dinosaur
And when I'm gone I wonder if you'll critcize me anymore