by David Chorlton
Would you pay more for water than for oil?
When you buy a bottle of water
can you read the ingredients clearly on the label?
Do you know the location of the country
from which it was drawn?
What nationality were the clouds
from which it fell?
How much water does a president drink
to rinse down a speech?
If air from the Himalayas
could be packaged and shipped
how much would you pay for it?
How could you tell it was cleaner than air
you breathe without charge?
How many bottles of water fit
on a board room table?
Is slaking thirst a right or a privilege?
How many hundred years does it take
for the bottle in which your water was delivered
to degrade?
Would you support a law that makes you wait
until one bottle has degraded
before you buy another?
Do you support the use of battleships
in taking control of water sources?
How much water does it take to float one?
Have you ever seen a ship in a bottle?
Was it a plastic bottle?
Is it fair for bottled water to be given away
at conferences?
Would you answer differently if the conferences
were arranged to discuss the lack
of drinking water in Darfur?
Do you think Darfur without water
would crumble faster than Chad?
David Chorlton has two new chapbooks posted online, The Dreaming House and Dry Heat. Both draw on life in Arizona.
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