Sympathy for the Ex-Convict - poem

He's done his time, all twenty years of it.
But there are nay-sayers hating him.
They want him out of their neighbourhood.
However, he's put a line in the sand.
Either get to know him and try to understand,
or go on hating the man he was twenty years ago.

While you can't change the tiger's stripes,
you can still teach an old dog new tricks.
No one is doomed to repeat old habits,
once shown how to make positive new ones.
Just as times are changing, so is this man.
Why can't the haters change their tunes, too?

So, I am supportive of this man,
and get hated for my trouble.
While that's no bother for me,
it only shows how deep the hate runs.
It makes me want to defend the underclass,
and reject everybody else out of spite.

While you can't change the tiger's stripes,
you can still teach an old dog new tricks.
No one is doomed to repeat old habits,
once shown how to make positive new ones.
Just as times are changing, so is this man.
Why can't the haters change their tunes, too?

(bridge)
It's quite obvious why the haters hate.
They can't be bothered to contemplate
the politics that work against the underclass.
Overclass mentality wears rose-colored glasses,
and never sees the squalor of the poor
that they try their best to ignore.

If a man has done his time, and the crime
could only be committed when he was young,
then age will prevent recidivism.
The skills he has been taught moderate
any return to the mindset of his youth.
All it takes is getting to know him.

While you can't change the tiger's stripes,
you can still teach an old dog new tricks.
No one is doomed to repeat old habits,
once shown how to make positive new ones.
While these times are changing, is it only one man?
I can see why haters never change their tunes.
I can see why haters never change their tunes.