whispering relief

a gentle rain first whispering relief

could come if we have undertaken

our part in fulfilling the needs

of our neighbors languishing

in this man-caused drought

but we had not learned to see beyond

our own irrigated lawns and desire

for multiheaded- showers in each

of our marble spa bathrooms

or past the label of ‘hoax’ on climate change

for us to comprehend the world craving

for clean water

we glance at the page of luxury jewelry

rather than the picture of a child in a ditch

hoisting battered plastic drum of water

to carry back a mile or more for his mother

to use in cooking

the sleek magazine prints the ditch and boy

in black-and-white, but the jewelry

in sleek color as it knows what we buy