Carefully poke at the brick in the middle, pretty near the bottom of the stack.
It doesn't move. It's a structural component. Take it out and there'll be no going back.
Okay - not that one then!
So try a different tactic, approach it from the side
Lightly stroke the outer edge to see if it will slide.
Maybe tap it gently? One end, then the other.
Easy does it, tease it. Persuade it, don't displease it.
Can you encourage the wall to release it? Will it fall?
Is this brick integral, the cornerstone of all?
What if the tower were just a metaphor?
And the bricks just representing events that went before?
The very foundation that a life is built upon.
What if we shone a light on what it’s undergone.
Scrutinised the paint, pulled the carpet from the floor,
And saw the hidden jousts that ‘til now have been ignored.
Of course the aim of the game, is to leave the structure standing
And what’s more, make it taller than before.
But as foundations shrink, not to leave it on the brink.
Not to topple it or wobble it with each new layer landing.
T’ward its loftiest potential it climbs.
But so does the risk with the number of times, that a brick is dislodged near the floor.
Amazing how the tower can be coaxed and cajoled
To reallocate the weight that this brick used to hold.
A job it used to do but doesn’t anymore.
What if, when they reallocate, the players would collaborate?
Instead of taking bricks that move with ease,
They work a little harder, persevere a little longer,
Insist a bit more strongly on the bricks that stick and seize.
You can take the ones that merely fill a gap, the ones that give your rival handicap.
Move those with no significant impact upon the wall: the ones that will not shake it at all. You can always take the path of least resistance. The undemanding path needs no persistence.
Or you can take the challenge, step closer to the cliff,
Take a risk with the wall. What if?
As we begin, oh so steadily we blow,
All plain sailing, turns taken to and fro,
Dismantling brick by brick, and building row by row,
Deciding every time how far down we dare to go.
With each move made we smile and know,
How smoothly we maintained this stable status quo,
Oh no! the first wobble.
The first indication of some instability,
A symptom that there’s been a threat to its integrity.
Who did it? Who didn’t place it well?
Who removed too quickly their little wooden cell?
Better go more carefully. From now on, take we care,
Duly cautious are we as we lay the tower bare.
Sometimes there's not much in it, it's the split of a hair
The difference between victory and falling right there.
The moral of the story: if you take something away,
Make sure you can replace it at the end of the day.
If you’re going to shake it, whether brick or friend,
Make sure you can re-make it, in the end.
Copyright Phyllida Alexander 30th July 2022