The Water Committee

The Water Committee Sub-basement three June fourth Present: seven Remaining volume: eight inches Carl has the floor Carl found a clipboard So Carl took the chair Janet had a pistol So nobody cared Ruth said we need structure Ben said we need votes A guy in the back said We got too many mouths First item: Old lead Second item: Who lied Third item: Not much left Fourth item: Who decides We logged the names In a ledger from the pharmacy Penciled out the dead ones To make the columns clean This is the protocol This is the grid Keep your mouth Off the rim of the lid Everyone gets a stamp Someone gets the key We put a lock on the bucket And we called it peace State your name for the tape Keep your hands where we can see We put the old ones by the exit In case the door gave way Janet watched the intake Counting down the day Somebody muttered mercy Carl called it ration Ben was staring at the wall Chewing blood from his thumb Motion passed Hands raised Same tongue New phrase Fresh rules Old smell Clean cup Dry well We called it equal allocation With the bucket in the center Then shifted the heavy hitters Just a little bit closer This is the protocol This is the grid Keep your mouth Off the rim of the lid Everyone gets a stamp Someone gets the key We put a lock on the bucket And we called it peace State your name for the tape Keep your hands where we can see The minutes say The meeting went well Nobody screamed Nobody mentioned the smell Nobody saw the swelling Nobody counted the teeth Nobody asked why Carl Had a dry throat But a puddle running Right under his seat Point of order! That wasn’t the vote! Sit down, fucker! For the good of the sector The motion carries— There’s a bucket on the table There’s a blade in the drawer Nobody calls it panic Nobody calls it war This is the protocol This is the grid Keep your mouth Off the rim of the lid Everyone gets a stamp Someone gets the key We put a lock on the bucket And we called it peace State your name for the tape Keep your hands where we can see Motion to adjourn Motion carried Someone grab the bucket Don’t look at the floor