Hydrants and Hoses

The hydrants are open—

roll the windows up

and approach the spray,

clear that all joy-filled screams

would be drowned out by the

Water. Pelting the windows.

Destroying a good wash and shine on that summer’s day.

Skin-stuck hand-me-down A shirts

stretched and dirt-streaked

draped over their chests

same way they draped over mine;

drenched in hydrant play.

Nearest pool too far to reach, but

better not get caught drinking from that hose.

The hoses are open

to full throttle, and there

is no avoiding the pressure.

Water boarded, blown airborne,

and to the earth, all at once

during pool season.

Black bodies good enough

to stop a fire hose.

Same one that fills up the ‘Whites Only’ pool—

where granny couldn’t swim.

That holy water too pure for her Black skin.

The sprinklers are on

in the center of a concrete cage

passing as a basketball court

two blocks past the hydrant.

But nephew is standing tall on the spout—

again. Knobby kneed

absorbing the pressure in soggy sneakers,

until Miss BusyBody calls to complain.

Pressure too low in the shower.

And they turn off the sprinklers

so we can’t play,

can’t cool;

and two blocks away 

the hydrant goes from jet to drip.

That drip became powerful

in granny’s garden.

Placed her thumb over its mouth, and

that hose sprayed. Those flowers yielded;

blowing every which way

like granny in front of that fire hose.

But she planted them too deep

for the roses to blow away.

And I learned… to flower

meant having deep roots,

and breathing underwater,

and holding my breath,

‘til I got to where I could stand.

Before time came for me to dive back in.

They still open the hydrants;

and with granny gone, 

I now hose the flowers.

until it’s time to hold my breath,

roll the windows up,

and approach the spray.

HANNAH WILLIAMS has been published in Iris Magazine and is slated for publication in Aethlon: A Sports Literature Journal later this year. Williams is currently pursuing an MFA in Fairleigh Dickinson University’s low residency program.