Entry # 209 - An Experimental Nonfiction Piece on WATER

Photo Credit - Jan Bowman - 2013

The Truth About Water

Drink up. Water is wealth. Water heals. Mends the cells. Flushes toxins.

Drink water from plastic bottles thick with toxins. Bound for recycling or landfills.

Water flows freely in our world into sinks, bathtubs and showers. We stand over cleansing basins of water, flushed with complex chemicals. We drink deeply and dump the rest casually into a sink. We wash vital organs clear of toxins with water taken from bottles and tidy faucets. Faucets quench thirst, but bottles travel better. Even so, in many parts of this world, water does not come from bottles or faucets.

Drink water. We have so much. Water holds it all together. The great earth’s landmasses press, just as we do, against oceans, rivers, tides. Think of parts of China or the Sudan. Earth’s poorest people value water more than riches. Water is wealth.

And whether woman or child, she who bends her back and kneels to touch the shallow stream or river with dry, cracked lips will live - unless disease, hunger, or toxins do their work.

Drink water. But how much?  It depends. Where do you live? How old are you? How healthy or wealthy? How much is enough? Perhaps eight or nine cups are enough, unless you’re thirsty, or tired, or your urine’s darker than light yellow. Or unless it’s early in the morning, or you’ve just swallowed a handful of vitamins, or you’re terribly ill. Then you might need more or less.

We can't imagine needing it, wanting it, or dying from lack of it. Unthinkable. Drink more water. Lose weight. Flush out those toxins. Toxins destined for the rivers of reclaimed water flowing into glasses and tubs. Don’t worry that you’ve taken too much, more than your rightful share. Go for it. Water your lawn. Wash your car. Flush and flush, because you can.

What could possible stop you from doing whatever you wish with water?

Drink up. Water is wealth. Water heals. Mends the cells and flushes toxins.

Or you could drink wine. You’ll live longer, they say. But it takes water to make wine.

I previously posted a version of this work. Not sure whether one should call it poetry or prose. It seems to be some sort of hybrid at this point. Since I usually write fiction, this presents different problems when I think about revisions.  Thought I would share a work embryo for Easter. 

Jan Bowman                                                                              Flash Creative Non-Fiction

5659 Vantage Point Road                                                          approx. 350 words - revised

Columbia, MD 21044                                                                April 18, 2014

Email: janbowmanwriter@gmail.com

Blog site: http://janbowmanwriter.blogspot.com
This has been a particularly difficult week - environmentally - so I have thought quite a bit about water and its importance.  If you follow me on facebook you know of what I speak.
janbowman.77@facebook.com
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About Jan Bowman

Winner of the 2011 Roanoke Review Fiction Award, Jan's stories have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, Best American Short Stories, and a Pen/O’Henry award.  Glimmer Train named a recent story as Honorable Mention in the November 2012 Short Story Awards for New Writers.

Jan aboard ship - 2013

A recent story was a finalist for the 2013 Broad River Review RASH Award for Fiction, another story was a 2013 finalist in the Phoebe Fiction Contest; another was a 2012 finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest.  Jan’s fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, The Broadkill Review, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes and others.   She is working on two collections of short stories while shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection, Mermaids & Other Stories.  She has nonfiction publications in Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.