We are mostly water, yet
we prize it so little we let
it run down the drain while
we brush our teeth, leave
it running to answer the phone.
Use it up on lawns that never
should grow in the desert, that
give nothing back in food.
Use up rivers to keep golf
courses neat as buzz cuts.
Thirst kills us much faster,
more efficiently than hunger.
Bad water kills just as dead.
Women walk carrying water
on their heads like crowns.
Great weather the TV says
while a drought parches trees.
Without water, nothing green.
Without water, nothing living.
Why don’t we worship water?
-Marge Piercy
