The Jenga Tower

By Dan Geddes

(On the fragility of organizations)

When a certain Jenga piece,
directly on the foundation,
one that was placed long ago
will be removed
sometimes new Jengas
are needed in its place.

And while some may say
that all Jenga blocks are the same,
and that it’s just as easy to replace
an old Jenga piece from the bottom
as a freshly laid block from the top,
the Old Jengas on the bottom Think Different.
They know they’re not widgets from the assembly line,
and not as easily replaced as you might think.

Not all Jenga blocks are alike:
They are not identical blocks of wood.
They are cut out to be different on purpose
with special grooves and kinks
to make the game more fun.

Hidden in its niche,
it’s not easy to know
just how much weight
a single Jenga can bear.

Jengas placed long ago
hold more of the weight of the tower.
They are wise:
They are like old trees
that have breathed the wind of the world
for a hundred years
and watched a thousand moons pass by;
who have watched the four seasons turn,
and seen other trees wither away.
They know that roots are stronger than branches.
Old trees are wise.

And old Jenga blocks are wise—and wooden too.
They have seen the structures that held strong,
and the ones that wobbled from restructurings.
And the ones that slowly crumble,
as the players try to catch the leaning tower,
before it topples and crashes
like a dysfunctional House of Cards.

They have seen each new Jenga placed,
and whether the new Jenga would fit right
and make the tower stronger
and support its share
of the weight of the Tower.
Or in time be replaced.

New Jengas have an advantage:
before they are slotted into place
the new Jengas see in a flash
from the outside
how beautiful the tower is.

New Jengas may not know the history of the tower
nor have witnessed its construction.
They hope the architects before them built well, with vision.
But they don’t know which Jengas below them
hold the most weight.

And the new Jengas are proud that they too in time
will carry more weight of the tower,
because they don’t want the tower to fall.

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