Drought in Suburbia

Another day of no rain,
strong heat, stagnant blue
in the sky.  The man
in the air-conditioned
house is depressed.
Not for the farmer
in Kansas, seeing his
stunted corn wither
like October leaves
at his feet.  But for
his own lush green
grass reduced to flat
brown straw.  Every evening
he uses six sprinklers
to water the lawn.  His
wife says its hopeless.
The next morning dawns
cloudless with more straw
surrounding his house.
Only the white sidewalk
looks content and radiant.

published in Living in the Fire Nest (Ridgeway Press, 1996).

© Copyright, 2012, Linda Nemec Foster.
All rights reserved.