Tired

After trying unsuccessfully to stop dozing off and giving myself whiplash as I was hurrying up and waiting for hours on a job yesterday, I was thinking about being tired. Then I started into this poem which sounds very pessimistic but was really quite a lot of fun to write. And it kept me awake.

Tired

Worn down by work
worn down by strife
tired of the murk
I'm tired of life
tired of trying
peace to keep
too tired to play
too tired to sleep
tired of giving it my best
of trying hard to pass the test
of enthusiastic bounce and zest
trying to smile as others jest
striving to be a gracious guest
of vigilance and guarding lest
I tip the cards close to my vest
of slogging through the endless quest
the extra mile at one's behest
and swatting vainly at the pest
of spending to feather the nest
of what was fine and then got messed
the sun is sinking in the west
just leave me be and let me rest