Join us in congratulating Charis, 1 of 3 winners of this year's EPA contest on water! Each contestant  was asked to answer the question, "How do you rely on the water on a daily basis, OR why would you consider a career in water?"

Please find Charis' poem below!

Charis' Water Poem

A parched throat
Rasping,
Caked with dust,
Dry as sand.

Slowly, exhaustedly,
Small, dry lips sip from little cupped hands,
Finding relief in the muddy water
For one fleeting second.

Watching those around,
Thirsty, hopeless,
Reluctant yet with no choice
But to drink that water.

In another place,
Another hand, clean and soft,
Holds a cup clinking with ice
And downs it all.

Filled with energy,
Pristine sneakers pound the sidewalk.
That clean hand clenches a wad of crisp bills
And drops them in a box.

Those bills travel,
Change hands,
Some to distant lands,
But some not too far from home.

Big, rumbling yellow machines,
Trucks full of bobbing yellow hats,
Loaded with pipes,
Filled with resolve.

The small, soiled hands
Eagerly reach out to take the cup
That lacks a speck of dirt or a blemish.
Taking the first sip.

Relief,
Revived,
Refreshed,
Joy.

Those bills made a difference
Those ideas made a difference
Those actions made a difference
That water made a difference.