old red water pump

old red water pump

locked with a combination,

water repair lid 

rusted shut, puffy white clouds

hoarding their cargo

The drought continues. Corn stalks drying from the bottom up, the ears thin, drooping. In town, brittle brown grass, leaves on trees shriveled and brown. Walking around town, I notice that someone has attached a combination lock to an old red water pump on the side of a building. And on the brick sidewalk, the blue Mueller Water Repair Lid is rusted shut. Day after day, puffy white clouds pass by, little water tanks hoarding their precious cargo.