Watching others
Raising questions
Engaging the Conversation
They are the ones who can
Dust off an old idea for a look
Make a verb out of "conference"
Ensure a story fills the pages
Imagery rich
A magnet for Pin and Like
Get others Thinking
They are great friends
Who are invited to the party
Who wear cooler shoes
Who first coin the word that becomes the buzz
Yes, I love the Thinkers
They serve up the inspiration
They elevate our work, even mine
For others to drink from the glass
And taste what things can be at their best
But Where I Live
-- And I once believed it was a choice --
Is a different sort
The Dreamers and Doers
Who undistracted
Spend seemingly infinite time
Patiently wading through the squalor
Often of a single question
With a broad smile
Bearing the load that others fear
Sweating an elegant solution
Obsession until breakthrough
If invited to the party
They may choose instead
A small forum of other
Dreamers and Doers
Who relish
A three hour discussion
Only one topic
A nuance in physics, history, violin making, fiscal policy, athletic equipment of a particular genre -- who knows!
Not selected for relevance
But for its intricacy
A complexity of flavor
That can't be captured in an Epicurious posting
Yes, I love the Thinkers
But I lie with the Dreamers and Doers
Because questions raised
Are not questions answered
When the Big Thoughts are done
The team built, the culture updated
Uncomfortably often
The original question
Rolls back into view
As yet unresolved
Waiting for someone undeterred by the stigma
Of an individual imagination
Or worse, old school expertise
To catch it before it drops
And run like a mad man for the end zone
I love the Thinkers
But I gush over the work-in-progress that defines
Dreamers and Doers because
Ideas conceived
Are not ideas fulfilled
Any more than the act of having sex
Is the same as raising a child
