Page 74 - Tributaries Catalogue

A Letter to Water

Dear Water,

I write to you for a number of reasons, the first of

which is to express my gratitude. Gratitude for wetting
our plants to keep us fed and nourished; gratitude for

quenching our thirsts, washing our dirts and flushing
our wastes. I thank you for being there when I cook, and
for not failing me when I poo! It is easy to miss the

fact we would all easily be dead of dysentery or cholera,

were you to choose not to be there.

I write you, dear water, to acknowledge my attitude,

Our attitude, which has affected you in ways that hurt
us too. Explorations and exploitations of unfathomable

degrees you have suffered, in our pursuit of wealth,
which now threatens our health and well-being. The

attitude is evident in the welter of oil spilled in the
Delta, the harvested deaths of aqua and human life, all

in the endless pursuit of profit. It is evident in the
negligence and indifference in Flint, and obvious as well

in the greed that makes the multibillion dollar plastic.

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