Sulfur Water

The sulfur water stains

the children’s clothes when the

parents try to wash them.

The water man said it’s

actually iron --

elemental problem --

but people think sulfur

because that is what they

have been told for ages.

That doesn’t cause the smell.

He says the filter will

fix the problem and make

the water softer too.

It will be better for

cooking and cleaning soon

and that smell will work its

way out of the homestead.

The well will need venting

The hydrogen sulfide

Is the cause of the smell

But does not cause the stains.

This will fix the problems.

It sounds like a great plan

for now, or at least till

they run city water.

The water man’s widow

can soon be forgotten.

*Originally published in Live Nude Poems