"Drought in the San Joaquin"

Drought in the San Joaquin
Bill Hatch, 2022

I am restless here at night
In the hot night lonely,
Slow, soft, slight continual blows,
And the absence of a Delta breeze
Irritates my heart.

The fat earth 
Is no good without water
No good without water.

Hot wind blows at night
Round the corners of sheds
Barns houses fences
Dust enters our bodies.

But the fat earth
Is no good without water.

The people cheer under lights
At the ballpark
Somebody hits
Somebody runs
Somebody throws
The people cheer under the lights
And the hot wind whistles
Under the bleachers.

No one is singing
At the bend in the river.
No guitars, no cook fires,
No more families of pickers
At the bend in the river.

The fat earth
Is no good without water.

The diesels growl on the bridge
But no water flows in the river.
And the bins and the trailers are empty.
No smell of garlic, onion,
No tomatoes, no fruit, no nuts.

The fat earth 
Is no good without water.

The old man says in the yard
The trees need a drink
There’s no water, Pa
Says his son, stacking cord wood.

The fat earth
Is no good without water.

The grand banker calls the President,
Let it flow, he cries, damn those 
Worthless fish!
The rivers 
Are no good without water,
Says the President.

At 10 in the morning
A migrant man chases his hat
On the sidewalk
Under the highway.

The fat earth
Is no good without water.