THE ART OF NOTHING

My sister used to play a game with her five-year old son when she wanted him to sit still.

She called it “Bureaucracy.”  The first person to do something lost.

For the poet

what words to leave out.

For the witness

what not to say

For the painter

when to put the brush down

For the musician

when not to play

For the athlete

    when to hold back (if even for a split second)

For the first date

    when not to kiss

But for the bureaucrat

    what to do.

Reviews

[Muse]

Discipline? lol, I don't think a bureaucrat is capable of conserving his or hers voice for the sake of liberty.

On another note...this is an interesting subject matter. It reminds me of the saying that less is sometimes more. I guess so is doing nothing. Sometimes we just need to pause...and let the silence to the talking.

[rutherford]

Muse, thanks for reviewing. I thought of Miles Davis and Aaron Copeland in this. Miles album Kind of Blue was the embodiment of less is more. Copeland used silences in his music to enhance the feel.

[Joyce S. Greene]

Knowing when to do or say nothing is a very important life skill, rutherford, and you have expressed that so very well in this very thoughtful poem. I also see "Less is more" in your words - something I am very much in favor of as you can tell from much of my poetry. I can see you're leaning in that direction, too. Some people can say more in a few words than others can say in a book - and I say,
"More power to them!" This is a really good poem!

[Michael G. Smith]

This must be my favorite poem of yours. I am always of the opinion that I would willingly continue to fund the government at it's current rate if they would either go fishing or play golf everyday they were on the job. It's that when nothing needs to be done the politician feels the need to do something to prove themselves relevant.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh wow, a little dig here....any slam on bureaucracy is a grand slam in my book.

and they are only artistic at screwing up...

they should know when not to kiss our butts because we know the kiss is just a diversion from us getting screwed.

jacob