10 Minute Prompt: Write about Categories of Something

The 5 Categories of Water

Water of the House, that we drink in the middle of the night,
up from an anxious dream of piles of paper
that grow no matter how quickly we sort and work;
that we bathe in to wash away the stink of life;
that we use to cook pasta and beans and quinoa;
that we use to brush our teeth and prevent decay.

Water of the Land that greens the blades of grass
which thrust and parry with the sun;
that fills each tree with sap for spring rapture;
that, in excess, makes our tomatoes split their sides
and spill unripened seeds on the ground.

Water of the River that’s got no time
to say hello, good-bye it’s on its way,
cutting into the land,
shouldering aside sand,
rocks, and boulders, mountains even.

Water of the Lake that breathes with seasons;
shelters blue gill and trout;
offers itself to deer and cougar lapping
with eyes straight ahead,
fuzzy ears swiveling side to side.

Water of the Ocean that hides and reveals
a universe of toothy fish, alien string jellies,
inky octopus, and super hot jets of gas and lava,
entire mountain ranges;
reveals and hides the beach while rearranging
drift wood in a thousand year long game of dominoes.