Drinking the Water in New Orleans

It’s called America’s asshole down here.
The ‘sippi collects waste from
A dozen states, countless cities dump
Their shit into the serpentine
Intestines that lead finally
To New Orleans.

I’m drinking other people’s
Prescriptions, a few antidepressants
And a couple blood pressure meds
Something for colon polyps
And irritable bowel,
Some estrogen and god knows what else
Escapes the chemical treatment
At the municipal sewage plant
And ends up in my warm
Tasty glass of New Orleans water.