Napowrimo 4/17/26: The World is Tired

 Today's Napowrimo prompt considers a response to a favorite poem. I chose Franny Choi's "The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On"

I kept the ending for myself. Kept it on a VHS tape
and watched it when I needed to feel a sense of closure:
after filing my taxes or when I've come to the end of leftovers.
I know there will be more
of this fulfillment,
of this frivolous endeavoring
to come, but sometimes seeing the
short-term
ending
daunts me.

this wood paneled den, the VCR rewinds with the
push of a remote. Anticipation builds until
I am placed among the uncertain cataclysm
and the will they/won't they of diminished 
order.

I sink deeper into the chair and let that
old time fatigue, that good sleep
take me.
the end is never far, always waiting for me.

here, on my own
I just need to close my eyes
just a minute
let the world's end 
work its magic
and

I'll rest for just a little longer.