Cistern/Turnaround

The story takes place west of the Mississippi River
(Hope for the conversation on Earth)

Later our vernacular term 'drylongso' came to mean 'ordinary,' after the droughts stopped and most people forgot how to speak

Patois, the language of my folk hero. Not only does he personify drought, but he also represents the longing, for rain and its infinite corridors

One time me and a white woman were stranded in a ditch in her car in rural Georgia. When a policeman came to help us she was relieved to see him but I was frightened

The city is yours, he said to me, reaching for my hand first, and I was still frightened and I'm still standing in that ditch waiting for the flood to lift me to its surface

Wondering if it's lazy to wait so long or if it's the new breed in me knowing this is the only way left to raise these stubborn waters