My Students Are Tired

Disclaimer: I am pretty much the furthest thing from a poet or creative writer that you could imagine. However, somewhere between the January doldrums, studying poetry, and my students' decreasing motivation, this poem came to me. Hope you (somewhat?) enjoy. 

We are Tired

It is January and we are tired.

Tired of the cold, the slush,

the salt that stains the floors, and our shoes, and our cars.

Tired of the incessant work that never goes away,

but rather seems to just keep piling on.

Tired of the mental stress, the decisions:

What is my future going to look like? Where am I going next? What's in store for me?

Tired of the teachers wanting more, parents wanting more,

everyone wanting more than I can continue to give.

But we know that being tired now will pay off in the long run.

We know that our hard work and our resilience and our grit is all worth it.

Because we know that in the end,

we will be successful, even if we are tired.