Good People, Doing Nothing

Carole Stolz 
You must be alive

in order to grow.

but the reverse is true

-       is it not so?

That in order to grow,

we MUST be alive

whether the way appears easy

or we struggle and strive.

We’ve lost already

if we just stand still.

We don’t need to die

or be terribly ill.

-       just do nothing

if you can.

No passion or fire.

No joy or élan.

Nothing that grips you

in the wee small hours,

nor fills you up

with inexplicable powers.

Good people doing nothing

-       it’s such a waste

So busy with gadgets

and TV and haste.

Rushing to rush in.

Pushing to push out.

„Get out of my way!“

you’ll oft hear them shout.

But don’t question too deeply.

Don’t ask „What’s the quest?“

Too busy to think

and too tired to rest.

Just fill up their days

with appointments and toys

with empty illusions

and purposeless noise.

And they must have been somewhere

but no one knows where they went

as they fought up the ladder

but were never content.

So they die ...out of boredom

- a life emptily spent

on trinkets and houses

-       their lifetime's intent.