California Drought Is No Dream Poem by William Waterway

California Drought Is No Dream
© W. Waterway

Peaks of California mountains
no longer adorn themselves in
white sheets of snow
Millions of acres of fertile fields below
now lie fallow
Bottled water is stolen from towns
where folks have no water
Arid air brings no rain
to help lessen the pain
Forests fill with lifeless fuel
feeding fire after fire
Shadeless soils bake
beneath sun’s high heat
Levels in wells drop until dry
Green lawns fade away
Green golf courses and
swimming pools now for fools
Parched mud bottoms of rivers
lakes, ponds and streams crack
Untold millions of species gasp
last breath in throws of death
People scratch their heads
helpless to address
waterless situations
As human hubris churns
surrounding desert returns