After

It’s not relaxing,
     not really,
        unless the relaxing
             is able to happen
                       after the impending.

Trying to force it
     ahead of time
        only compounds the doom
                       of what ‘s coming.

Sure, to some minor extent,
     it helps to be able to disengage a little
             if possible.
But I can’t ignore
             or turn off
                       the dreaded known.

I need to be able
     to put the draining stuff behind me,
         get past it
                 in order to actually
                            relax.

Work hard
         hard
         harder
         push, push, push
         go
         do it
         do it
         do it now,
              then play
                 or relax
                    for real
                       after.