Today is blog action day 2010 and the theme is water.

‘Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us.

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren’t strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation.

But, water moves beyond just a human rights issue. It’s an environmental issue, an animal welfare issue, a sustainability issue. Water is a global issue, deserving a global conversation.‘ (source: blog action day website)

I found out about Blog Action Day via Crafty Green Poet and Selma in the City – two bloggers who have posted about water. Go and check them out if you have the time.

I have written this poem for the theme of water (warning: rough draft quickly written given short notice).

My hometown of Brisbane (used to be anyway) has recently come out of a long drought so the residents have been thinking a lot about conserving water, but this is not always the case and it’s something we all need to think about, all the time.

Plumbing the depths

Tap runs while teeth are cleaned.
Toilets flush away our waste.

Vegetables boil to death
while salt gets thrown out with the water.

Liquid soap disinfects
imaginary dangers

then flows down the drain
to join the other toxins.

The dishwasher hums its pleasure
with the bountiful flow.

The bubbler bubbles
its magic.

Plastic bottles of water jostle each other
for our attention in the corner store fridge,

waiting for us to fall for them.

Bathtubs can’t believe their luck
when filled to the brim with liquid gold

and bubbles.

Pot plants sigh in delight
when the watering can hovers.

The driveway laughs its head off
when getting a wash.

Water saturates a day

but thoughts of water evaporate
as quickly as they come.

_______________________________

Video for Blog Action Day 2010: Water

http://player.vimeo.com/video/15336764