Almost a Game

The way there is a pile of blocks,
and one is pulled out from underneath,
suddenly, and then everything is more stable.
Sometimes death is like that. We breathe
a shameful sigh of relief. Other times,
it’s the exact opposite. Everything comes down
on everything else. We knew this would happen
eventually, but didn’t expect it nearly yet.
It comes down like an attack. We must rebuild
in a new way. We must rethink our strategy,
the relationship of parts to the whole. We must speak
of the laws of physics and blame no one.
Parts fit back together as if they were meant to be
exactly where they are now. Look at the thing,
and it appears whole again. How does that happen?