The water woman

The woman's hanging washing on a line.
Somewhere a child. A dog runs
through a narrow space.

The woman hefts
a sheet from a damp basket.
Where's the child? The dog runs.
Its tongue lolls.

The woman is seen
through a narrow space.
The white sheets draped on the line 
hide the child. The dog runs, 
getting bigger, closer. 
It wags its tail. 

Where will I find you, water woman? 
In the dripping of a tap? 
The weave of a wash-cloth? 
The gutter? The cloud? 

The child counts 
its fingers and toes. The dog runs. 
A sheet dries in the wind.