"You know you are tired if..."   

           by Summer Cheng

       You know you are tired if,

        you try to put your contacts in backwards,

       you do not recall,  

        at all,

       rather you said hello,

        to everyone you say today,

        or only imagined it.

      You know you are tired if,

       you publish a one-shot story,

      under the title poems,

      by accident,

     and discover it later,

     as you feel like a lazy couch po tator.

      You know you are tired if,

       you  drink coffee,

      and  feel like  you  still,

       can barely stay awake,

        long enough to make sense,

         when you speak to some one,

         under the sun.

        You know you are tired if,

         you  go to quote a verse,

          and you mix up your d's  and f's,

           out of the blew,

           and everyone else laughs on cue,

          as if   they thought it was a joke,

           or two.

           You know you are tired if,

           you sort the socks,

          and find out,

          that you went about,

          with one sock in your drawer,

         that belongs to some one else,

          in your house.

           You know you are tired if,          

           you  call,

          your son by your husband's  name,

         your husband by your son's name,

        and your dog by the others pets name,

        and act as if it is  all the same,

        to you.

     You know you are tired if,

    you get ready for church,

    and the collar to your coat,

    sticks up in the air,

    while the rest of your outfit,

     looks so nice and neat,

    as you slide into the car seat.

    You know you are tired if,

    you almost trip,

   over the dog,

   as you go to sit down,

   to eat your lunch,

   or is that just a hunch?

  You know you are tired if,

  you are in a bad mood,

  for no reason,

  even after you finish your food,

  and every little thing,

 seems to get on your nerves,

  including the nice tweet of your pet birds.

  You know you are tired if,

  you try to think of a great,

  poem to write,

  but everything seems to be anything, but right

  as you try to sit tight,

  and just relax.

  You know you are tired if,

   the dog's  breath,

  starts to annoy you,

   out of the blew,

   and you forget,

  what you want to say,

  anyway.

  You know you are tired if,

   you feel like a pill,

   as you try not to be so rude,

   or crude,

  to everyone else,

  as  the weather,

  remains kind of dreary,

   and weary,

  without any evidence of sun,

   to stand out in and have fun!

  You know you are tired if,

   you get ticked off,

  when no one seems,

  to understand you want privacy,

   as you work hard at what you do,

   if  if you do not get paid a thing or two,

   it still seems to be so cruel,

  that they do not let you be:

  so you can you finish your poem,

  before you feel like you will go crazy,

  on this gloomy day,

   today.

You know you are tired if,

  the door opens and closes,

  the phone buzzes or beeps,

   and all you can think about is,

  your sleep:

  as you try not to give forth,

  a peep,

 of  annoyance with your family,

  and pets,

 though try as you might,

   you feel like a failure in sight.

You know you are tired if,

the only thing,

  you can sing,

 about is how sad,

  you feel,

even if you are not ill,

 at all,

 despite the fact,

 it does not feel like spring,

  just yet.

You know you are tired if,

 you think it is still winter,

  and yet spring,

 is around the corner,

  as the birds tweet, and sing,

the pollen comes out,

 and you almost sneeze,

 as you try to take it with ease,

  though try as you please,

 you  still  feel like a grump.

You know you are tired if,

 you watch a movie,

but do not seem to focus,

like the others do,

who watch it with you!

You know you are tired if,

 you drink caffeine,

  to try to keep up,

 but still feel like,

 you got run over by a pick up truck.

You know you are tired if,

 you can not remember if  Phil,

spells his name with one l,

or two,

and you notice,

someone forgot to tie,

their shoe,

 but you do not remember,

 to tell them,

so they can fix it.

You know you are tired if,

 you snap,

 at everyone,

 as if they did something wrong,

even  though they do not,

and you still try,

 not to yawn,

 as you slowly,

 begin to drift off,

 to sleep,

without so much as counting even one sheep.

You know you are tired if,

 you think roses,

are always red,

although it has been said,

though there are many different kinds,

 and  you  are over obsessed with I love you's,

to your friends,

and everyone else you meet,

 on the street.

You know you are tired if,

 you try to eat cereal with a fork,

or spork,

instead of a spoon,

you try to pour juice,

onto your cereal,

and creamer into your cup,

full of juice,

as you seat down,

at your table,

all alone,

as you try to wake up,

from your sleepiness.

You know you are tired if,

 you mix up your 2's and 3's,

your a's and b's,

and your dots,

with spots.

You know you are tired if,

you wear two different kind of socks,

with your shoes,

as an adult,

who is in their twenties, or thirties,

  as they try to rush about,

without a doubt,

 in the world,

as to who they are,

 and how they got so far!

You know you are tired if,

 you have writer's  block,

 when it comes to your stories,

  even though earlier that day,

  you though of something awesome to say,

  in more then one of them,

but now you do not recall,

what you wanted to say at all!

 You know you are tired if,

  you thought you sent your best friend,

 a card in the mail,

 and now know you did not,

but still forgot to buy one at the store,

and now are not sure,

 what to do  now,

so she will not think,

 you forgot her birthday,

this year,

and begin to shed a tear.

You know you are tired if,

 you do not know,

  what your mother told you so,

 in the morning when she last spoke,

 to you and now it is only afternoon,

of the same day,

but you feel embarrassed any way.

 You know you are tired if,

  everything starts to look like,

  your bed,

with a pillow or two,

 along with your blankets on top,

  and you feel like you might pop,

 from exhaustion,

 on this dull,

  day with nothing much,

  left to say.