Is Your Tiredness Worth It?

When I was young and naive
many adults I knew worked hard
in jobs that were exacting
and left them constantly tired
for no particular reason
beyond the consistent defence
of the principle of ownership.

What they secured was being owned
by the jobs they did. Their defence
of their reward being theirs
leaving less for other people
was worse than weak reasoning,
whilst others readily accepted
having less and still worked hard.

As a person who had less to work for
I was told I had 'no right to be tired'
when others strove so hard for so much.

We can be as tired from enforced inactivity
as we can for work either for gain or no gain.

It baffled the strivers
that I would not admire them,
but I was admitting defeat
when I could not be like them.