Water

So last night I watched the movie “The Social Dilemma” and came to the conclusion which I reached 50 years ago, that we have to “solve one damn problem after another” trying to make the world a better place, rather than trying to make money. If you were wondering about how you can make a difference, in trying to stop Nestle and other big companies from privatizing the water supply of the whole world, leaving millions of people to die of thirst, here is an answer: Charity: Water.

Every penny goes to helping bring clean drinking water to small villages all over the world. They have a separate business for generating the plans, engineering, and support system, so that every donated penny goes to getting the water to the people. You can give $5 a month, or more. It is easy to do. I watched their ad, the night I was watching Midnight mass from the Vatican, and they are a total inspiration. I wrote a poem about it.

“WATER FROM THE SPOUT”

WATER FROM THE SPOUT

Little faces lit with joy, 

as they put their whole heads

under the spigot,

and their hands, eagerly

cupped to catch the clean sparkling water

as it pours generously,  dancingly,

a ribbon of miracles,

continuously from the pipe.

Water

(the Health Inspector says:)

So the baby will not get dysentery,

so the mother can wash the clothes,

so the children can go to school,

and not be thirsty,

Or nauseated, or anemic,

because of amoebas and worms, 

because of this new spigot, 

because of the gift of the well, 

drilled by someone who wanted to 

be of service,

to make a real difference:

A miracle in the desert

Water

They have seen only mud holes, wet by

opaque brown water, glaucous as a cataract,

full of bugs,

where animals have washed, and drunk

after walking through the dust, toward

the pond which seemed a mirage,

there are footprints all around the slimy rim.

Dancing down the road, 

these strong children carried on their heads

big oil drums and plastic containers

full of  contaminated water, 

for miles, their feet dusty and hardened

by walking on the earth with bare feet,  

singing and flashing their smiles, 

on the daily walk from the mud puddles

back to their homes.

Water

They laugh, they sing,

Watching the clear, clean water splashing 

From the pipe.

The well is in the middle of the village,

women come with their baskets

full of clean washed clothes, 

children play in the open air 

their voices full of excitement and joy,

their hands clapping and touching,

clean hands and clean faces,

bright smiles of happiness

WATER