for example. at this juncture of my life i am a brick wall. even a fortress, maybe. all obstacle. windows up high, no doors. something is happening inside, deep in the tower’s belly. the soft thing in the antechamber is glowing. it’s hardening like petrified wood. and no one would ever know, because it’s safe there. peaceful. no ego-drunk conquering lords come barreling in, no sad pilgrims, no tax collectors nor gamblers nor drunks nor pretty stable boys with ringlets enter here. the wall is impermeable and unscalable. every armchair explorer that has tried to climb it has given up, released and fallen into the waters below, more welcoming than the altitude. they, like most, were not ready for blisters. the brick wall is a happy wall, a technology without failures. press your face against it, hot from the sun, victorious