1% of water

on the earth we can drink

(all the rest is salty.)

Since our bodies, we think,

are more than half water,

then thinking is faulty

that will waste and pollute.

…

U.S. Senator Paul Simon, b.1928, d.2003

Senator Simon said

the crops need to be fed

that life-giving liquid.

Can we be resolute,

look into the future,

change wasteful behavior?

…

Will the glaciers all melt

and the deserts expand?

Will there always be drought?

Will our rivers run dry?

Cumulus clouds

Will there never be snow?

And will anything grow

with no clouds in the sky?

– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL Sept. 26, 2012