Nothing more
than a drop in it -
Everything!
A whole world transparent
but full, wet and alive
One sphere meets a universe
of water glowing in brilliant colours
Unattainable and always present.
Listening to the moving waves,
I feel the peace inside myself.
But the perfume-flavoured,
man-made drop I cannot swallow
Toilets flush
House water bubbles
The inebriated captain
crashes the tanker

Anon, USA
Rescue Mission: Planet Earth, Kingfisher Books
and Peace Child Charitable Trust, 1994

 


A drop glistens on my finger
I long to taste it, to ease the fire
on my cracked lips
Water is life
Without it I should die,
yet water is also death.
This drop is full of bacteria -
trachoma, bilharzias - names
that strike terror in my young heart.
Safe water is free in some places.
Here, it costs more than milk,
more than Coca-cola!
Is that fair? Is that wise?
Is that sustainable?

Anon, Mozambique
Rescue Mission: Planet Earth 2002,
Peace Child International, 2002
The earth is dead without water
Man is dead without water
Birds, fish, sheep, goats, cows and all
They are dead without water
The sea and the river
They give us love and joy
The ocean keeps the world together
Where are we without these?
I will reach out
in my boat to yonder land
Because the sea gives me road
The oceans and rivers give me road
So take care of our water
Please! Take care!

Dudley Fewry,
Sierra Leone
Rescue Mission: Planet Earth, Kingfisher Books
and Peace Child Charitable Trust, 1994
       
 
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