Water

A Drink of Water

She came every morning to draw water
Like an old bat staggering up the field:
The pump’s whooping cough, the bucket’s clatter
And slow diminuendo as it filled,
Announced her. I recall
Her grey apron, the pocked white enamel
Of the brimming bucket, and the treble
Creak of her voice like the pump’s handle.
Nights when a full moon lifted past her gable
It fell back through her window and would lie
Into the water set out on the table.
Where I have dipped to drink again, to be
Faithful to the admonishment on her cup,
Remember the Giver, fading off the lip.

The liquidity of living, our dependence on our own bodies, which are water; on the lakes, oceans and watersheds that quench our thirst and our crops, that nourish multitudes of flora and fauna. March is a month full of holidays and observances: International Women’s Day, Pi Day, St Patrick’s Day, Spring Equinox and World Water Day on March 22.

Our warm neighbourhood gathering of word-lovers returns Saturday, March 15, to celebrate water. Come and share a favourite song, poem, or short tale of 3-5 minutes written by someone other than yourself. Or just come to listen and enjoy!

Here are some more watery lines to get the creativity flowing....

Water

By George Szirtes

The hard beautiful rules of water are these: That it
shall rise with displacement as a man does not, nor
his family. That it shall have no plan or subterfuge.
That in the cold, it shall freeze; in the heat, turn to
steam. That it shall carry disease and bright brilliant
fish in river and ocean. That it shall roar or meander
through metropolitan districts whilst reflecting
skies, buildings and trees.

And it shall clean and refresh us even as we slave
over stone tubs or cower in a shelter or run into the
arms of a loved one in some desperate quarter where
the rats too are running. That it shall have dominion.
That it shall arch its back in the sun only according to
the hard rules of water.

Can't wait to see you!
Yvonne & Cynthia