Little stream,
so small,
so swollen with Gatorade-blue liquid
full to the brim of the bank
with fresh life blood.
Wasser,
you give us life
in clear cold droplets
of your blood
Little stream,
you are life blood for the scrawny brown doe,
life blood for the woman
and her tiny child only knee-high
with a ribbon of blue in her dark hair.
Wasser,
you are
life blood for the thirsty pine and birch trees
for the tawny birds, fluttering their wings in your cool bath
Wasser,
you are
richer than gold’s coveted glint,
more precious than any blood diamond
more coveted than the green dollar bills in my wallet.
Wasser fur alle:
this is my hope
flickering like a candle
in a gusting autumnal wind.
M.B.B.
10/29/19
photo credit: shutterstock images
translations
leben blut: life blood
wasser: water
wasser fur alle: water for all
Note: I’m trying my hand at using what German I’m learning from songs in poems. Let me know if my German words are incorrect! (I used the power of Google to write out my German phrases.)
The Nerdy Nook 