I finally got a refrigerator that dispenses cold, cold ice
and water purified by a filter. Some people have these
all their lives and some people never have them.
I always go for ice now and I go for the purified water.
My wife says it tastes better but I don’t know.
What I do know is I have that kind of power now,
the power to push a button that places me on the good side
of elite, the power that when I forget and take water
from the filthy tap I pour it out and start all over.
Here I am tonight, not thirsty at 12:38 a.m. Pacific Standard
Time in January, not thirsty but still pouring water
that I don’t even want, the beginning of my dynasty.
— CASEY KILLINGSWORTH
Casey Killingsworth has work in The American Journal of Poetry and many other journals. The Washington resident’s first book, A Handbook for Water, was released by Cranberry Press in 1995; his collection A nest blew down was published by Kelsay Books in 2021. His newest, Freak Show (Fernwood Press), arrived in June 2024.