A cell phone,

The big flat-screen TV.

The materialistic things in life 

That have become so commonplace,

The easy answer for, "what can't you live without?"

Well, I say something else.

I can't live without fresh water-

As a New Yorker on Long Island, I know the best of the best.

And to have anything different just isn't the same.

In my long marathon showers I let it flow,

It rinses down my back and swirls around my drain.

When I am thirsty, it sits right there by the sink, filtered and pure.

And when I'm done, the remains

Swivel and swirl down the drain.

Sometimes you really have to think

Of drought-ridden places with no fresh water to drink,

Or cities in the USA that have lost that right,

Only having dirty sludge to consume.

So the next time I look at my pitcher

That is filled to the brim or easily able to,

I will remember those who are forced to say-

"Water is what I can't live without, but I have to every day."