Save your Water for The Devil

Gold cherry

By Jane Hyphen

Tue, 18 Aug 2026
  • 421 reads
15 comments
 

 

Save your water for the devil

Let the young trees die -

the future oxygenators,

our only hope for cleaner air.

Let the flowers die -

Don’t feed the pollinators;

those at the bottom of the food chain.

 

Water the data centres

so that they can flourish instead.

Let the shareholders

drink the profits until they bloat.

 

Let the fish die,

the insects too.

The birds can starve.

Sell the reservoirs for housing.

Houses like little boxes

made from petrochemicals.

 

Save your water for the devil

because he is running this show now.

You will see his image

in all those who are in power;

listen to them and do what you're told.

 

Certificate U
Poem

Comments

Submitted by Di_Hard on

I am so glad you said this.

I imagine insects discussing those creatures who think they are intelligent. Would bees invent something which would unemploy them, make them unable to have enough food and water; would woodlice invent something which would change the weather so that it was too hot to live and no rain fell?

Would any kind of intelligent creature allow its fellows to do these things?

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thank you, Di and many thanks for POTD. It made me laugh a bit because I was very angry when I wrote this last night because I know there are people with private estates who have dubious exemptions from the hosepipe ban and sprinklers running 24 hours while us plebs follow the rules and the water company fat cats clean up.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

First, it's not my turn to do potd, but your poem would have been my choice, too.
Second, yes! Did you hear about that rich American, months ago, who was living in a drought/water restricted area in England, and getting water delivered in TANKERS to fill up the lake he'd just had dug?
The thing about your topical poems is, they're not rants, like mine would be; somehow you make your point like acid on dull metal, etching a deep message which also shines

 

Submitted by insertponceyfre... on

Well done Jane - these things need to be said. You've missed out the surge pricing though - maybe another stanza?

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Thanks Insert. Surge pricing, yes. I actually worked for Thames Water very many years ago and at the time (1996) everything was reasonably priced and as expected. Now we have surge pricing - why can't it be capped by law? One day soon, there's going to be some surge push-back.

 

Submitted by marandina on

This is one area that never lent itself to privitisation. Water companies represent a monopoly so do not adhere to free market dynamics. The sector really should be returned to public ownership and run for the benefit of all rather than being profit focused for shareholders and execs.

You make the point really well with your poem, Jane. 

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

True, Paul. It was madness to sell our water - and to foreign companies. I hope it does return to public ownership but unpicking these things is complicated and won't necessarily mean lowered prices. Thanks for your comment.

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

You are exactly right, Jane. As one plonker said the other day, let's stop moaning about climate change and enjoy the heat and new varieties of English wine with fizzy stuff that could really take the fight to the French. Obviously his brain is one of the things starved of nutrients, although probably not of irrigation.

The situation with the water companies is one of the most destructive things to happen in this country, and they're just part of what the 1% and their minions are doing in order to line their own pockets and feed the fantasy that they can survive when the bees and insects don't.

Great poem.

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Robots and eye watering profits are more important than the air we breathe and politics has become a glamorous career with lucrative, post government hustles and a buffet of grifts. 

Enjoy the heat, fizzy stuff and fight the French all point to a worrisome mindset and bring to mind Boomers with too much time and money. (poor France was literally air-fried this year. As my neighbour said to me the other day, 'you ain't seen nothing yet'. So I brought an extra bag of rice and a water sterilising straw. 

Thank you for reading and your great comment, airyfairy.

 

Submitted by airyfairy on

This is our very topical, and brilliantly written, social media Pick of the Day. Congratulations!

Picture by Robert Wade, free to use on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drought,_Holden_Wood_Reservoir,_...

Submitted by Frances Macaula... on

Golden cherries well-deserved for your valuable points raised. 

Thank you!

Soundcloud:  https://soundcloud.com/search?q=FrancesMF

Submitted by GlosKat on

In last year's drought there was a hosepipe ban in Hampshire, where my dad lives.  But Southern Water were delivering water in tankers to fill up an artificial lake on an estate owned by a wealthy American who is a friend of Donald Trump.  One rule for the rich ...

As regards data centres though, I think we must admit we're all guilty because life has moved online.  I store my photos online, I put my family history research in The Cloud so that other members of my family can read it and it won't get lost if my ancient laptop packs up.  And of course all our posts on ABC are all being stored on a server(s) somewhere which will need electricity to run it, and some method of cooling it down.  I know every time I add a picture to illustrate my post then I'm using up way more storage on the server than text would alone, but I usually can't resist.

Thank you for another well written and thought provoking post.  Although it is lovely to get cherries, I like the posts best which get lots of comments and stimulate lots of interaction.  Like yours always do!

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

Mmm, I have some similar tales about rich people getting around the rules. It's so unfair. I honestly don't know why is plebs put up with it. It would be interesting to know our Cloud carbon footprints as it were; maybe that will be possible soon - and they'll probably tax it too (but the super rich will wriggle out of it).

Thanks for your comment, GlosKat. I agree cherries are nice but the feedback makes this site. I'm always keen to get things up (when I can create them) just so I can see what everybody else thinks but often I can't think of a sensible comment on others posts but I still enjoy reading them.

 

Submitted by Turlough on

I could feel your anger Jane. I feel the same way. The devil and his business associates can only bring harm.

Good on you for being so angry.

Turlough

Submitted by Mark Say on

Good poem Jane, one that draws a lot of power from the anger behind it.