uses for water

washing your face.
becoming a fish. breathing
in the old way. breathing 
in the new way. rinsing the dishes
after a sticky meal. shampooing
your hair after three days
without a tongue. becoming 
human. becoming land. learning
the real story. hibernating all 
winter in the sweet mud. 
mixing a spoonful of crystal light 
into a red sickly drink. drowning
a fist. drowning a mouth. 
cooling a nuclear power gut.
bellying a bomb across 
the ocean. hiding a submarine 
full of fury. becoming not
the land. becoming not the
animal. blood. blood. more blood. 
your blood. my blood. the pig's blood.
what you are made of.
only the empire thinks,
"there are not enough data centers."
a warehouse full of little machines.
our bodies like lakes wrapping
around them as if we can brush
our teeth with horror. as if the salmon
will still be able to speak to us. 
a dry wishing fountain full of pennies.
we will learn to add a drop of water.
maybe even just spit. i want to be
a stream when i grow up & grow on.
i do not want to be a conduit for
this unnamable hunger.