I
Water
It is a sentence all by itself
Subject, verb and predicate
Water is the stuff of life
Water, Am I
Water
II
Water
Held together in a fragile web
Of membranes, of cell walls
Permeable tissues, some hard
As dense as bone, others soft
As malleable as the wetted
Tongue
Water is me
Water
III
Water
Two gasses; oxygen,
Hydrogen, elements
Bonded in the valence
The weak electro-link
A current, the energy
Forming the template
Of life’s first moment
Water
IV
Water
The crèche within which
Our carbon atoms nest
Metamorphosis…they respire
Become bacteria, and breathe
In water, amoeba, and later
Much later…become we
Creatures, all animated
Appetites, and moving desires
Water
V
Water
Without which I am nothing
It defines the extent of me
The parameters of my being
I mean this literally, technically
I take up more and less space
Physically, in direct proportion to
How much water I carry inside of me
My body’s water tells the tale
I plump up as I retain it, and
I wither when it evaporates
Water
VI
Water
Healthy when balanced
When well measured it flows
It defines the extent of me, of us
The limits of the flesh, yes
And of where the flesh may go
I cannot live far from it
No human can, neither grass,
Nor tree, not a flower
Or fungus either
Water
VII
Water
Some living things are immersed in it
No form of life can live apart from it
That we know of
Every eco-system is formed by it
On our world
Every social-system as well
From the insignificant Bacterium
To us…the word weaving, world
Wandering Homo Sapiens Sapient
Water
VIII
Water
There will have to be water
When we fly upward, outward
Fly to the moon, to Mars
We will carry water with us
When we journey to the stars
Water
IX
Water
From spring through autumn
I water, my garden every day
From the same pipe I draw
Water to clean, cook, drink
Water my body, warm shower
Water, falling from the spigot
Like the summer rain
Water
X
Water
My city provides it
Meters my use of it
An endless supply
Of water, I could fill
Pools with water
It costs almost nothing
Minneapolis is a city of
Water, of lakes, streams
Rivers, we are rich with
Water, fat with water, wet
Green, and blue, like jewels
Scattered on the plains
In the wake of glaciers
Melting in retreat
Water
