Aqua: A Natural History

Wave Acapulco Breaking

By Arturo Mann (User:Feralaas) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 

I was born from the remnants of stars. The hydrogen that fuels their fires twice forms me, along with the oxygen through which all energy finds release. So abundantly have I grown from that first molecule that I cover two-thirds of the earth. And I am the giver of life.

Have you not called me a goddess in a thousand tongues, a god in a hundred? And why not? Whether born from wombs or crawled from seas, it’s all the same: you are my children.

Do I not nourish you? Your earliest permanant villages depended upon me, so beside the flowing rivers of Indus, Tigris/Euphrates, or Nile you built your first. You scarred the earth with channels to irrigate your crops. You channeled me through your aquaducts to hydrate your cities, borrowed my strength to grind your grain and powered your earliest industrial technology. You’ve traversed me in every imaginable watercraft, and you’ve harnessed me to your need at your convenience. In the end, You will wage your last wars preserving the remaining pure sources of me.

Or will you drown in the deluge you unleash? Already I seize land by centimeters a year. What parts of me stood statue-still now flow and consume. While elsewhere, I ignore the desperate cries of a parched land and a dehydrated people.

I yield, therefore I’m strong. Mountains bend before me over time. Warriors fashion their art on my flowing motion. I am the bringer of death as well as the giver of life. Why else do so many of your cultures speak of a flood?

Know me, and embrace me in awe. I am water. This is my psalm.

 

wind on the water

quivering sunlight spreads out

on countless ripples

 

for Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Water, posted by Sumana Roy

 

 

 

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18 responses to “Aqua: A Natural History”

  1. Sherry Blue Sky Avatar

    Oh this is my favourite of the responses to this prompt, Frank. Just wonderful, and every word pure truth

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thank you, Sherry! 😀

      Like

  2. jazzytower Avatar

    That’s water alright, you nailed it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thanks, Pat! 🙂

      Like

  3. oldegg Avatar

    What a great haibun Frank. I loved “I yield therefore I am strong” If only more of us followed this advice.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Indeed! Thanks! 😀

      Like

  4. Susan Avatar
    Susan

    Most insightful, a compelling read. I love that water speaks proudly of history and power.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thanks, Susan! 😀

      Like

  5. Sumana Roy Avatar

    Awe inspiring! I like that super confident voice of Water. A wonderful haibun.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thanks, Sumana! 😀

      Like

  6. annell4 Avatar

    A beautiful write!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thanks, Annell! 😀

      Like

  7. magicalmysticalteacher Avatar
    magicalmysticalteacher

    A wonder-filled haibun!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thank you! 😀

      Like

  8. hypercryptical Avatar
    hypercryptical

    A beautiful wise write Frank.
    Anna :o]

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Frank J. Tassone Avatar

      Thank you, Anna! 🙂

      Like

  9. “Essential” Featured in Poets United: Poems of the Week! – Frank J. Tassone Avatar

    […] the subject inspire me, and I write in response to that inspiration. I chose to personify water in Aqua, for example, because that’s what felt right when I reflected on water. I thought of its […]

    Liked by 1 person

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