The Complete Guide to Blessing

The whole poem, told properly — a cracked skin, an imagined drip, a broken water main, and twenty-three lines that sing and chill in the same breath.

Introduction

The poem in one breath — What actually happens — and why it is not a poem about a burst pipe
Imtiaz Dharker: three cities and a camera — The poet who belongs to several worlds and entirely to none

The city where the water comes on at six — Real scarcity — the fact that makes the poem literal before it is symbolic
Why water is holy — Three religions, one element, and a god the poem refuses to name

Stanza one: two lines of drought — How to start a poem with a law instead of a person
Stanza two: imagine the drip — The poem's only command, and the smallest god in English poetry
Stanza three, first half: the pipe goes — The volta — an adverb, a burst main, and silver in the street
Stanza three, second half: the congregation — How a scramble becomes a service — and what the poem admits about it
Stanza four: children, liquid sun, small bones — The most beautiful and the most frightening image, one sentence apart

The voice that never says I — A camera with a conscience — and the reader it drags into the street

Stanzas that hold water — Free verse that is anything but free — 2, 4, 11, 6
The soundtrack: crack, drip, roar, song — Read it aloud and your mouth performs the whole poem

Choosing your partner poem — The pairing IS the argument
Section B on the day — Forty-five minutes, both poems printed, AO2 and AO3 only