For Want of a New World

A young girl
bounds down the street
toward her waiting uncle
perched on his steambike
half her weeks wages
sloshing in a jar,
and across her shoulder,
a bag full of pamphlets
describing a bright future.
They pour the water
into the bike
careful not to waste a drop
and set off

Then a bullet
smashes through his skull
from a Prushian gun
and the pamphlets scatter,
and all she can think to do
is cup his blood
and drink,
because it's so much wasted water

And a woman
wakes up in the desert
with no uncle
and no job
and just enough water
for a single tear
that trickles down her cheek
when she thinks
of the bright future
that never was.