Times of Grey

I talked slowly with steel-faced men,
Who stared at me coldly every time I began.
In those lifeless eyes I saw no joy,
Only a suspicion that all was a ploy.
Unwarranted wrinkles gossiped to me,
Behind their façade I fought to see.
Lives ended in the time it took,
Color fled from view as I looked.

A shackled man, bound and gagged,
Is unable to labor, forced to lag.
A yearning was deep, amid their soul,
To escape the ruse and go hungry no more.
Pride and shame mixed into a tea,
Makes a bitter brew that all should flee.
Forced to taste, with a grin if may,
Are we the men in these times of grey.