Parched
they’re sucking up all the water
underneath the place
but on a rooftop bar
atop a crooked building
there’s a big round welded tub
with a large curved faucet
which never fails to deliver the liquid
needed to keep that drunk tank full
the tourists jump in fully clothed,
all warm with cervezas and mezcal
and all the precious agua
splashes out
evaporates on the sunbaked concrete
the faucet gets turned on
and the stream flows
and flows
but outside of the tourist trap
the probreton wait out in the streets
their faucets are a gamble
sometimes pouring but more often dry
so they scrounge up their pesitos
for the city’s water trucks
which are meant to distribute
portable water evenly
but the drivers take bribes
and the poorest go back inside
without any water
to wash their clothes
to wash their dishes
to bathe their children
or to drink
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JULIE BROUGHTON is a sophomore pursuing a Baccalaureate degree in [LANGUAGE: GERMAN AND SPANISH] with a minor in Creative Writing. Julie says she overindulges in the finer things in life.