Prisoners

I get propositioned most mornings on my way to work Near the orthodox church and the underpass The faces always change but the questions are the same "Do you have a light? Do you want any business?" Day after day I shake my head and I walk by half asleep And listless As I walk through St Pauls, down City Road to town The first bus of the day lights on by Sleep still in my eyes veils everything in sight With ghosts of dreams that circle around my shoulders As I walk the pavement past green lights and crossroads I've filled this bucket with water and chemicals Mopped these cells and these corridors Every single day for so long now I forget What life was like before It's just one more day, another dirty floor It's too early to get up but I have to pay the rent My passport to paradise has not been earn't yet I do the best I can to escape when I'm able And on any given night you will find me Slumped across some bar-room table