Kareem Shawky

“The Threadballs (on the ground) We are thoughts; You should have thought us; Little feet, to life You should have brought us! We should have risen With glorious sound; But here like threadballs We are earth‑bound. Withered Leaves We are a watchword; You should have used us! Life, by your sloth, Has been refused us. By worms we’re eaten All up and down; No fruit will have us For spreading crown. A Sighing in the Air We are songs; You should have sung us! In the depths of your heart Despair has wrung us! We lay and waited; You called us not. May your throat and voice With poison rot! Dewdrops We are tears Which were never shed. The cutting ice Which all hearts dread We could have melted; But now its dart Is frozen into A stubborn heart. The wound is closed; Our power is lost. Broken Straws We are deeds You have left undone; Strangled by doubt, Spoiled ere begun. At the judgment Day We shall be there To tell our tale; How will you fare?48”
― Erich Fromm, Man for Himself: An Inquiry Into the Psychology of Ethics