Rest your bones, shut your eyes
You have earned this worthy prize
Sweet relief, a deep sleep
Twelve hours pass, now repeat
Everything’s uphill
And likely always will
Your laments avow
You have all the time you needed now
Dream of all that may have been
Never get back up again

now here I am
and my demon
sitting beside me
we don't
have to fight
each other
because both of us
are friends
I am tired
and less have energy
we need a peace
to rest
the war should be finished

Enjoy this.
Give focus.
Take pleasure.

Ritualise
each movement,
each breath.

And then
repeat.

The limited palette of the January riverbank,
#nomakeup #nofilter
just the burst capillaries and thread veins
bare

A tired earthy visage,
still allures the blackbird and wren
who never truly got the hang
of saying when
and feast past decency

The idea is to recuperate
and re-emerge fresh and green
but truth seems more like this molasses mud
that hold boots firm

Off the daily cuff
blood pressure rises,
no real surprise
when this number over that
seems to dictate it all

For it to fall to a level
where there is no dread
of a sudden clutched chest
or brain wildfire
requires time for self care,

And though there’s the rub,
your work will never love you back,
so feel no guilt stepping away
before you crack

In an ideal
joy-and-happiness-society,
would every working person
get time off work
to rest,
to rejuvenate,
to play,
to self-entertain,
to self-educate,
to care for and improve one's mental-health,
to travel and explore,
to do family-joy,
to do friendship-joy,
to do romance-joy,
to do joy and happiness activities?

Cast my ash upon the rocks and let them settle upon the sea,
for there upon that rocky shore is the place I choose to be.

Peace and tranquil summer days that I spent without a care,
where sound of wave and salted scents be carried by the air.

Weary are my bones with a soul of torments without release,
but on that shore my soul can rest and finally know some peace.

The lap of wave upon the rocks under the clearest blue of sky,
In the warmth of childhood memory my soul could finally lie.

The choke and mew of seagulls as they pass along their way,
solitary songs of disturbance to accompany the passing of a day.

For I am come to such an age to hear the appeal in this call,
to know both rest and peace and with no fear in it at all.

The answer “Ok, just tired.”,
like a reflex action,
as knee-**** as the daft decisions,
naïve, fear driven, not yours,
that put you here

In that “tired”, a million branched to’s
trigger a billion possible do’s
flowing like black sand
while you run on fumes
trying to clear
just
one
space

No one wins
digging holes on the beach
while the ignorant tide comes in

Soothing touch
Sure as morning light
Ease to a weary one
Rest here, they seem to say,
Rest here, small dear

Tender and mild
Yet a mind vastly wild
Brilliant in all their wonder
All doubts lifted asunder
All is well, all is well

Come near, sit dear
Rest thy feet, and greet
Relaxation unparalleled
Anxieties to cease
In this tranquil moment
Still and quiet

- Jay M
October 5th, 2021