Thursday, May 29, 2014

DMC: "The Politics of Water" by Mary Lee Hahn



The Politics of Water

As if
endowed, we take
faucet, pipe, disease-free
for granted. All of this, our right.
Not theirs?

© 2014 Mary Lee Hahn.  All rights reserved.


Thank you to everyone who contributed to this month's pool of cinquains, inspired by Laura Purdie Salas' challenge!  Join us here tomorrow for an end-of-month wrap-up.





6 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you wrote this power-packed ditty, Mary Lee-- such an important perspective. Isn't it great that Laura is donating a portion of her proceeds from WATER CAN BE... to WaterAid?

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  2. Oh, Mary Lee. So true. And I didn't think about this at ALL when I first started writing WATER CAN BE... I love your opening line enjambment, leaving "As if" there all alone, hearing it said in that sarcastic tone of voice that usually goes with that phrase. And of course, the final line, too. Sigh.

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  3. Well said, Mary Lee. There *should* be enough water on this blue planet for everyone.

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  4. Wonderful, Mary Lee--this packs a punch. (And I think with water shortages in the west we are going to have to soon learn not to take water for granted!)

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  5. Buffy is right, here at home, too, we watch what we use, but I know you mean more than that. Wise words!

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  6. Thanks, everyone, for the kind comments! I grew up a couple hundred miles east of where Linda lives. The average yearly (YEARLY) rainfall in eastern Colorado is 17 inches, and incredibly hard times are ahead for that whole region as the water table that irrigates the crops and waters the lawns and (oh yeah) comes out the faucets in the houses (the Ogallala Aquifer) is pumped dry. Recently, a dam/reservoir near my hometown was demolished in the name of a multi-state battle over water rights. So the politics of water are very real to me. (Living now in Ohio, where it rains extravagantly, makes the lack of water back home even more poignant.)

    One of the things I love most about Laura's book is her donation of proceeds to WaterAid. Because as hard as things are in Eastern Colorado, there are still faucets and pipes, and clean water still comes into homes. No one has to go to a community well. No one has to carry water for miles. No one is restricted to one gallon of water a day. Can you imagine it? ONE gallon?

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