I am too tired to fight the good fight
Bravely do battle with forces of blight
Plunge into evil's frenetic foray
Puncture and wound or repair and allay

Children I have who must be washed and fed
Worked for and cared for and taken to bed
Daily and grimly I toil 9 to 5
Most of my hours just keep us alive

This is enough, is what most people say
Plop down and rest at the end of the day
Read or watch movies or talk to a friend
You can't do more, for your strength's at an end

But there was once when I burned with a fire
Late nights and no sleep just made it burn higher
Time was no issue, it bent to my will
Faster and harder, my mantra was shrill

Work after work, one was paid, one was not
Pleasure and leisure was gladly forgot
Dreams they were laid, they were made, they came true
No need for respite, ambition will do

Daily and weekly and months I prevailed
Racing and pacing and hearing the ails
Pressure was built up and ROI low
I shuddered, I braced, and then I let go

And now in the aftermath, tired I be
Too tired to care who is prisoned and free
Too tired to move myself out of my frame
Feeling a gap, but accepting the blame

Suddenly time after work is constrained
Once was consumed where I now just feel drained
Selfish, uncaring, unacting I live
Living for taking, no longer to give

Daily I vacillate, guilty and free
"Heal yourselves!" is what I think bitterly
Yet while I rest myself so wearily
Discontent bites and fights inside of me

People like Ariel, fighting the fight
Righting the wrong and creating the right
Shred my complacency, strip my skin red
Bringing back visions inside of my head

I know who I am and what I should be
But I can't summon the bare energy
Emptied and dwindled, a hibernate me
Storing, repairing, preparing to be
​
One day I'll wake up, renewed and refreshed
Flaming and sparking at what I do best
Till then I watch from the sidelines and wait
Wait for my passion to unfurl to great.



December 1st, 2016


Photo Credit:
Patrick McConahay