Put it in
Grind the gravel in between
And let run the sand
Put down tar
Put down mortar
Pick it up
Put it in again
Today is not a day
To let bricks lie scattered in the sand
Pick it up
Pick it up again
Slide it in
Smear more on
What? No more water
Use your tears then
Your tears in the sand
Make more mortar
Pick it up
Put it in
Don't dare drop
Not a single brick in the sand
Hear the hushed wind behind you
That is their collective sigh
The ones who rely on your progress
Without you like bricks in the sand
Pick it up
Pick them up
Pick yourself up from the sand
Now is not the time
To run out of sand
Keep it going
Keep on walking
Pick them up
And slide the cogs in and
Set their gears in motion
Keep it running
Keep on moving
Don't stop working
Slide the bricks on the sand
This is your fate now
This is your life now
Making bricks from the sand
There was never more
There is never more
And nevermore will there be
Anything in this wide world
Other than bricks, and sand, and men
Wait
What are you doing?
Pick back up those brick on the sand!
Are you crazy to drop them
Crazy to mock them
Crazy to lay down and die in the sand
Get up at least
Get back to building your wall
What are you doing?
Where are you going?
Stop your running?
Running from the sand
It is never ending
It is never failing
It is never breaking
These bricks and the never ending sea of sand
This poem really resonated with e right now, as I slug through each day trying to accomplish Oxford-sized feats, and eventually fall into a workhousian rhythm similar to laying bricks, with the collective winds of everyone's expectations sighing behind me. :) Thanks for your words, South African Poet.
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