The secret

Sun sparkles on the water
As it pours into the alley
In old Havana; a fountain
From a rusty gutter drainpipe.
The boy is lost in joy,
Dancing under the water.

For so long as he sambas
With the shining water,
Nothing else matters --
Not his sick mother
Nor shoeless sisters,
Nor the father who disappeared.

The boy knows this secret:
Every day the sun pours down
Over all the earth. And rain
Kisses the ground, blessing
All who walk in it.
If we only stop to dance
And look up,
Joy is pouring down
Every day.

Betsy McKenzie
9/28/2011
National Geographic image that inspired this poem: