Lassitude

We reach the final arc of the days rotation,

Our form overtaken by a sense of enervation,

Met with a fatigue resembling comfort,

Like waking slightly numb from a midday nap,

Arms rather weak and faintly heavy,

Fingers with new found sensitivity,

The objects around us softer to the touch,

With each tick eyes grow heavy,

Shallow breaths betray our will,

We sink into a cloud of synthetic laze,

Responsibility passed over giving way to relief,

Soothed by the solace of rest,

The future can wait a bit longer,

The pace of the world can diminish,

The beaming light of society can contract,

Movement becomes unnatural,

Restlessness envelops bones,

Nervousness agitates flesh,

We give ourselves permission to pause,

To just be,

And to fade out of existence.

Analysis

1. The Comfort of Collapse

Met with a fatigue resembling comfort, / Like waking slightly numb from a midday nap,

The poem starts by reframing enervation (loss of energy). Usually, weakness is feared, but here it is welcomed. The comparison to the "numbness" of a nap suggests a pleasant disconnection. The body is beginning to uncouple from the mind’s control, and the speaker finds a strange safety in that lack of feeling.

2. Sensory Re-calibration

Fingers with new found sensitivity, / The objects around us softer to the touch,

This is a very specific observation of how the brain processes touch when we are exhausted. As the "heavy" muscles (arms, legs) shut down, the tactile senses seem to heighten. The world loses its sharp edges—literally and metaphorically—becoming "softer." This creates an atmosphere of intimacy with one’s immediate surroundings, moving away from the "hectic maze" of the outside world.

3. The Rejection of the Collective

Responsibility passed over giving way to relief, / The beaming light of society can contract,

This section highlights the psychological relief of opting out. * "The beaming light of society" represents the gaze of others, expectations, and the "pace of the world."

• By "contracting," the speaker is shrinking their universe down to the size of a bed or a room. It is a radical act of self-preservation—the "future" is no longer a priority; only the immediate "now" of the body remains.

4. The Biological Friction

Movement becomes unnatural, / Restlessness envelops bones, / Nervousness agitates flesh,

This is a striking turn in the poem. Before the final "fade," there is a moment of physical protest. It perfectly describes that involuntary "itch" or twitching (like hypnic jerks) that occurs when the body is exhausted but the nervous system hasn't fully powered down. It’s the "friction" of the soul trying to settle into the "bones."

5. The Final Permission

We give ourselves permission to pause, / To just be, / And to fade out of existence.

The poem concludes with the ultimate release. To "fade out of existence" isn't portrayed as a dark or morbid end, but as a necessary dissolution. It is the end of the "performance" of being a person. By giving themselves "permission," the speaker transforms a biological necessity (sleep/rest) into a spiritual grace.

Summary

The poem is a tribute to the art of letting go. It tracks the transition from the "beaming light" of productivity to the "cloud" of rest. It suggests that our greatest relief comes not from achieving goals, but from the moments when we allow our identity to "fade" and simply exist as a breathing, resting form.