Denton Wirkus

A Better Brick

1. The memories we hold 

• crafted by time 
• and molded by our thoughts 

are like bricks all part of our shared lives. 

1. We build this home 
2. for our loved ones 
3. both before and after they are gone. 
4. 
   
5. My dad bought a bag of pennies when I was five 
6. that we sorted by dates 
7. on a plywood table
8. a brick is added.
9. 
   
10. A trip to New York to see uncle Jack 
11. and the World’s Fair 
12. And a magical plastic badge that said IOWA 
13. it glowed in the dark both a marvel of science
14. and a silly boy running from a hotel light 
15. to a darkened bathroom 
16. another brick.
17. 
    
18. Going to visit him at his work 
19. a lab full of exotic 
20. mysterious machinery and glassware 
21. that smelled of dust and metal 
22. where with the magic of chemistry 
23. we melted copper pennies 
24. yet another brick. 
25. 
    
26. And finding him in his broken down recliner 
27. unable to stand 
28. suffering from the loss of his wife of 69 years 
29. unimaginable loss took its toll 
30. some bricks hurt more than others. 
31. 
    
32. Unable to stay in the home he shared with her 
33. without her he came to live a short drive from my home 
34. protected from his grief by a memory of now 
35. no memory of this loss, 
36. other bricks shield us.
37. 
    
38. We forged daily moments in time
39. by sharing banana nut bread and snarky sarcasm 
40. each day, an island of time
41. and we laughed about the thousand bricks 
42. we remembered of our life together and apart. 
43. bricks that gifted me with the chance
44. to know him anew 
45. and love him even more.
46. 
    
47. Each of us have our own bricks we can add 
48. to the edifice of his afterlife. 
49. 
    
50. And, as I watch his new home grow 
51. with each new memory 
52. I smile in my sorrow
53. As we keep on trying to build a better brick.
54. 
    
55. Written May 19, 2025

By his son, Mickael Denton Wirkus With a special thanks to Uncle Blos and Aunt Kathy for sharing their favorite memory of him with me.