I'm tired — Summary

Sam MInspired

Of faking a smile Of not being me around everybody I'm tired Of hearing insults all the time Of feeling like I'm falling I'm tired Of feeling like I'm getting better Then having it ripped away But I'm not tired Of feeling happy Even good enough sometimes I'm not tired of being me I'm not tired of you And that won't change.

Show the whole poemHide the poem

Learn Poems app

Try the Learn Poems app

Everything from the website trainer, and more: new exercises, voice recording and sharing, reminders, quick review.

Sam M's poem starts as a list of exhaustion. The speaker is tired of faking smiles, of hiding who they really are around other people, of constant insults, and of the sense of falling. The repeated "I'm tired" works like a heavy sigh, each time followed by a new weight. The most painful complaint may be the one about getting better and then "having it ripped away," which suggests hope that keeps being snatched back.

Then the poem turns. Three times the speaker says "I'm not tired" of something, and these lines are gentler: feeling happy, even if only "good enough sometimes," being themselves, and "you." We don't learn who "you" is, so the reader can imagine a friend, a loved one, or someone the speaker is addressing directly. The final line, "And that won't change," feels quiet but firm. The mood is worn down and sad, yet it ends with a small, steady kind of hope and loyalty.

Read also

More by Sam M

All poems
SadSam M

Plate

You said you had too much on your plate For this For our friendship So why didn't you let me go
RomanticSam M

Fight

You got in a fight over me I don't know what to think of this There's one part of me that thinks how sweet The other part thinks why bother
SadSam M

Girl

I'm the girl who's a rental car Nobody ever thinks of me first I'm that second thought girl The one who nobody pays attention to when she does something great