The water from the tap is cloudy

The water from the tap is cloudy

It clears after

It has stood for a while

A dusty white powder

Coming out of solution

Why would I drink it

Who knows what has made it so

He blamed it on the fire department

Switching the mains supply

To put out a fire the other day

I saw the house

It was gutted and only just refurbished

People think such things

Are bound to be insurance scams

But the builders were still there

It was probably their mistake

It usually is

It would be covered anyway

Through the construction company

Poor kids

Nine of them they say

Who has nine kids these days?

I hope they were happy

Because life is going to be pretty

Tough on them now

I wonder if they will get it rebuilt

Spend another six months

In a rental

How would they feel moving back in

Could the place ever feel like home again

It is the little things we lose

That really seem to matter

The photographs and mementoes

Of good lives lived

A bridal gown...christening robes

Family heirlooms

The irreplaceable

Covered in soot and grime

The runoff drained away

Funnelled down to the sea

Birth certificates turned to mush

A prom night corsage

Floating on the water

Like a wreath

After a sailor’s funeral

I wonder how their bodies

Never get washed up

On some distant shore

Like the opening scene of a crime show

The sea lapping at their wrinkled heels

The surf all soft and fluffy

Just like the water from my tap

Thank goodness for the purifier

On the fridge

Where would we be without it

Spending a fortune on bottled water

From the supermarket

Paying through the nose

For another pint

Of somebody else's run-off

Whilst the parents of the homeless kids

Sift through the debris

For a soft toy that isn’t

Too badly water damaged

To help the little one sleep

As the neighbours gather round

Whispering a silent prayer

Of thanks

It hadn't happened to them.