Of Water

A poem about water, but it's not what you expect.

What you know of water
Is what we all know of water:
The cool liquid is salvation
On a hot day
When the sun shines too bright,
Or that the sound of it,
Crashing against the beachhead,
Is music for lovers
On the sand

Yes, what you know of water
Is what we all know of water:
That when the cool liquid
Falls from the sky:
The silvery drops, the crystal drops...
When the treasured drops
From God’s own hand
Touch the ground,
They rejuvenate the earth
And enrich the land

But what do I know of water?
I know that when the cool liquid
Pours over my hands--
My dirty hands
My stained hands
My evil hands--
It washes away the blood
It absolves me from my act
It liberates from my guilt,
From my crime
And it frees me from my sin