I must tell her
I mutter away
to the two who
come to fix
our besieged
water meter

(a grade 6 learner
and I were much earlier
cogitating over
a creative poster
on careers in design)

(I was saying to her
that there is design
all around and among us)

I must tell her
as the fellows estimate
shape and bend
material to fit the space
where the meter is

(a gnarled tree complicates
their engineering)

(the said meter survived
as I heard the miscreant
at work for some copper piping)

What was his design
in the cold and dark
of the sleepy village
the neighbourhood not
watching out

(a nearby day-care centre
too suffers a loss
to the poverty
of the system)

another every day
in the planet’s everyday

A busy Tuesday night (28 Aug) here in the little village, as a water meter nearly goes astray.

See “Burglars target day care centre” (Athlone News, August 29 2018) and “Local crèche vandalised” (People’s Post Athlone, 28 August 2018).