Today is another special day – World Water Day – an annual United Nations observance day held on 22 March that highlights the importance of fresh water. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. When I was teaching GCSE English some years ago, the following poem came up on the syllabus. I loved it then and thought it just the right poem for today.
Blessing by Imtiaz Dharker
The skin cracks like a pod.
There never is enough water.Imagine the drip of it,
the small splash, echo
in a tin mug,
the voice of a kindly god.Sometimes, the sudden rush
of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts,
silver crashes to the ground
and the flow has found
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a congregation: every man woman
child for streets around
butts in, with pots,
brass, copper, aluminium,
plastic buckets,
frantic hands,and naked children
screaming in the liquid sun,
their highlights polished to perfection,
flashing light,
as the blessing sings
over their small bones.
The water situation in Gaza makes me weep; indeed the whole situation in Gaza. I just wish life were better for those children and that they could feel ‘the blessing.’
For some reason that I haven’t yet fathomed, our town is celebrating the red squirrel. This delightful piece made by a local artist, Flotsam Flo, is in the window of our greengrocery and butcher’s shop. If you use Facebook, do look her up. Her work is so important.
There’s a new postbox topper on our street, ready for Mother’s day next Sunday.
