restoration of water
The same clear stream flows from the tap today
but now it’s changed:
they say it’s safe,
which changes everything.
Charlie told us how it was to wait for water
at the mall in Zimbabwe, after things fell apart.
He’d grown up with safe water,
and when things first went wrong
he thought the water trucks would be temporary.
Someday he’d simply turn the tap again.
But, years later, he still waits in line.
When they said our water wasn’t safe
it was the latest in a string of improbable truths –
like December wildfire
like blocks of charred houses
like insurrection.
So, today, when they invite us
to turn the tap and drink,
I let go a caught breath
that’s been squeezing my throat
ever since we stopped
to fill the first jug.
