Poem: I did not do all of it

I did not do all of it

but I still did more
than I might have
and there are reasons.
It has to be said
I can find reasons
on other nights too,
but I know, still,
there are reasons tonight.
Maybe they are an excuse
but they are also real.
It is hard to know
if I am being honest
or making an excuse,
or maybe those categories
are not relevant at all
or too subjective to count.
I had a bad night
and told myself
I could take it a bit easy.
Turns out that is just a reason
for being hard on myself
in other ways.

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