BRICKS

Bricks build walls

They erect homes

Both rise up

Men make them out of earth and clay.

Water tightens them

Ovens bake them to withstand

Bullets and dour weather.

Rectilinear and hard

Red or blue

Porous or solid

Beautifully stacked:

They invite the mason’s hand

To choose.

Bombs are the enemy of bricks:

Stroke them tenderly,

And share their warmth.