Bricks are a wonderful phenomenon prevalent on alt.good.morning which were invented at some time in the past by my phine phrend Phil. He defines them as: "a block of text using a fixed width font that is both right and left justified but which has no extra spaces to achieve the justification. It is an art form which some would suggest is poetry, but which I prefer to think of as merely a brick."

I've been enjoying writing them since I started a few years ago and I've decided to make an archive of all the bricks I've written that I can find...

There is also an AGM brick page, which is attempt to archive bricks written after a certain date by all AGMers.

Not all of these are equally clever, but I decided I wanted to save them, mainly for myself to read in the future. I decided to put them online in case someone else might enjoy them too.

Silver Lining
November 22, 2001
A day after I finally accept
that I am blessed and that I
must keep the faith that the
middle path I have chosen of
balancing effort and letting
go (I shall not want) is the
correct one, my present life
unravels drastically.  Maybe
last week I would have cried
but today I see it as it is,
a new start, an opportunity.

Forgiveness
November 16, 1998
Like a careful
excavation the
layers of dirt
removed slowly
an artifact of
real rarity is
found:  a true
golden friend.

Plunge
July 21, 1998
Like standing on a cliff
above the ocean I intend
to dive into, hesitating
not from doubt, but only
to enjoy the tension and
the view before the fall

Travail
May 5, 1998
Expecting a beautiful
view I made the climb
to the summit.  Where
is the vista I worked
so arduously to find?
Will the sky clear or
shall the rain ensue?

safe?
March 9, 1998
Like thinking that
you're about to be
shoved off a cliff
then being roughly
wrenched to higher
ground leaving you
shaken, but really
in a better place.

auto-immunity
September 5, 1997
Our modern plague
it finally claims
one of my friends
may he peacefully
rest and a speedy
cure be found for
the thousands who
suffer everywhere

random sailing
July 16, 1997
Adrift, I watch
for life up and
down the shore,
not sure I want
to discover it,
as solitude has
its own rewards

AGM book text
July 8, 1997
AGM can be a nice diversion
where one can read posts on
a variety of subjects, both
silly and sombre.  However,
if you go deeper and become
drawn into the region where
"real life" becomes blurred
with these transmissions, a
word of warning:  you might
find your world transformed
as you are nudged towards a
path of adventure, delight,
and possibly a new destiny.

asphalt
May 28, 1997
Sometimes cliches
about the road of
life, uncertainty
along the way, or
not knowing which
direction to turn
emerge as neither
mere metaphor nor
truism.  Luckily,
I have a good car

Waiting Room
May 22, 1997
All the magazines
have been torn up
or are written in
the language that
I have only begun
to understand. As
I look around the
room it appears I
am alone, yet the
number I hold has
not come up.  Any
idea when my turn
will arrive sirs?

Verily
May 12, 1997
This house will not
topple as bricks of
the highest calibre
are its foundation!

May Day
May 1, 1997
It's certainly been
an interesting year
up to this day, eh?

sour
April 21, 1997
Attempts at peace making
thwarted as "just my two
cents worth" surfaces to
show some reason why I'm
terribly mistaken at any
opportunity.  Persist if
it brings you joy, but I
live on, for two coppers
are worth little indeed.

Plasmallegory?
April 8, 1997
These fast men were like
bitter chocolate, always
shadowing my lazy dream!

Faith
April 7, 1997
Learning one's way
around the smaller
things proves most
challenging as the
distracting noises
creep into windows
disturbing perfect
slumber.  Easily I
would choose to do
this all again, as
that beacon shines
over my face; I do
believe in destiny

Monitors
March 10, 1997
Lurking among us
stalking between
the lines ghosts
of past days and
people seeking a
returned thought
follow and watch
our words though
public are meant
not for sneaking
clandestine eyes

Onomatopoeia
February 27, 1997
Bump click roar smack
boing meow buzz crack
tweet sizzle bonk zap
pop dingdong pow snap
zip whoosh oink clang
boom beep swish bang!

Defrosting
February 6, 1997
Descended from Nordic warriors
he approaches his enemy weapon
in hand as the beast, normally
evilly stentorian, becomes his
quiet adversary.  The dripping
of melting ice taunts our hero
as he wades through cold pools
of water towards his enemy.  A
showdown ensues and with steel
and fire he emerges triumphant

Propinquity
January 17, 1997
Daunting icy road leads to
new versions of everything
and courage makes our past
musings tangible, tactile,
and true.  Bravery only in
execution as the decisions
were made facile in asking
a simple query:  US or us?

Assumptions??
December 5, 1996
presume
nothing
obscure
squares
meaning
slanted

Perseverance
December 4, 1996
I have learned to run
listening to my heart
following this road I
feel dirt and hardest
pavement fly under my
feet arriving soon at
my destination with a
flushed face and damp
cheek in glad fatigue

Quarter
November 18, 1996
Hands grasping metal
eyes looking towards
water a silent pause
before a gentle toss
rippling the surface
invokes a concordant
exigent wish without
words the coin sinks

cultivate happiness
November 11, 1996
Have faith that every misfortune is
fate nudging you gently towards the
best route for the future.  Examine
yourself; strive for improvement on
every level.  Nourish your body and
feed your mind.  Relinquish grudges
and love unconditionally (including
yourself!)  Allow your emotions the
right to flow freely, while keeping
the perspective:  I am lucky indeed

Prisoner Profile
October 6, 1996
Overcoming each day
conquering the year
the seasons roll by
writing the book we
will win the battle
for soon it arrives
the endless weekend

Pernicious Ping Pong
October 2, 1996
Pondering previous pursuits pleasant perorations
peak.  Parleys persuade passions; parallel paths
paved.  Plausible parable perhaps?  Pain pesters
pertinent people; potent power percolates.  Pick
preparations; perpend possibilities.  Persuasion
parrying prudence (precise pugilist!)  Prospects
perceived; pivoting possibilities.  Pure poetry?

Carpe Diem
September 25, 1996
To live life with the wisdom that
we regret most the things that we
don't do than our active mistakes
seizing opportunity at each level
and cultivating ambition.  Powers
found with collaboration pave the
path towards fate's acme.  Refuse
to be ordinary and rule the world

Rolling Season
September 15, 1996
On the first cool evening after the summer
I hear the buzzing beltway stirring nearby
and I long for a motorcycle to take me out
across the bay towards the shore where the
wild horses run to breathe the air to hear
the waves but mainly just for the ride and
I smile knowing another autumn will arrive

AR profile
September 14, 1996
Time and place are no match
for the legion of doom with
these powers to conquer the
world from the feeble human
race come with me my fellow
super-villain and we'll not
only live on earth but anon
we will be ruling it as one

Overwhelming
September 12, 1996
A shower of anvils and pianos falls over my head
expecting it to hurt I start to run, however the
temptation to know what it would feel like to be
crushed makes me cease to ambulate so quickly in
fear.  The pain is intense yet welcome as impact
occurs.  I could have run away but I fear that a
bolt of lightning would have hit me in the storm
so I learn to live with the dull ache and the so
welcome moments of respite which come with faith

Forbidden donut
August 29, 1996
Written in airplane-induced slant: "I wonder what this trip
will do." Fifty pages later these answers are still unclear
as the consequences of not minding the gap fly through on a
set of wings unfolded by a tiny freckled angel. The promise
to avoid hasty change proves evanescent, the possibility is
actually a necessary evil.  The road ahead is not smooth or
easy, but it will be a compelling ride. No need for the old
radar detector here, go at your own speed. One last Simpson
quote: "did you know that the Chinese use the same word for
crisis as for opportunity?" Isn't life interesting friends?

music
June 18, 1996
Whenever I hear one of those songs
that rolled around again and again
through your six CD stereo machine
while we sat together chatting and
visiting the moon, I remember your
intense thinking eyes looking over
my face, in retrospect not knowing
anything of what flowed around and
what it meant to you and while the
problems of interpretation, place,
and the very intensity I cherished
created a rift, I hear those songs
and feel happy remembering the way
it was and the places I was led to
wondering if elsewhere, other ears
hear these strains in the same way