Water Bottle Poem by Ijanric Howe

The sun gleamed;
the truck lurched along,
sand churning under
weight of wheels;

men hung from the back
as people gathered
on the streets
to see them arrive.

A group of kids
ran up to the truck
cheering; pretending
to shoot at the men.

One man took
a bottle and shook
it at the boys
below.

As the truck kept moving;
the boys ran behind;
whittled down to
one boy who ran

for several blocks.
The man unscrewed
the cap, tossing the open
bottle onto the road behind.

The boy held
his empty prize,
staring after the men
who drove away into the sun,

their laughter
fading slowly
until they
were gone.