The memory of water
by Gail
The memory of water persists
in each grain of desert sand,
as the sequoia haunts the saguaro,
the birch the darkened ocotillo,
as squirrels stare from prairie dog eyes.
They scratch for moisture in the shadows,
live on promises of rain to come.
In the same way shrunken cells
recall the electric signals received
and transmitted within the organism
which continues to function
despite its desiccation, needing
only the memory of protoplasm
to propagate and persevere,
just as the withdrawn heart survives
on the memory of love.
