After stand up comedy, bottled water entered the world of poetry. In the world of stand up comedians, almost each comedian performs accompanied by a bottle of water, as one New York Times article documents. In the stand up comedy world, bottled water seems to act as a display of sincerity. New York born poet Kim Dower, currently living in LA, read her poem called “Bottled Water” in Bryant Park, on a hot July evening.
The poem discretely humors the hyperbolic and promissory marketing discourse of bottled water. Bottled water also functions as a rupture of everyday rhythm, and as a background upon which doubt is projected. Below you may find Kim Dower’s public reading of her poem in Bryant Park on July 29, 2025, as well as the poem.
Bottled Water, by Kim Dower
I go to the corner liquor store
for a bottle of water, middle
of a hectic day, must get out
of the office, stop making decisions,
quit obsessing does my blue skirt clash
with my hot pink flats; should I get
my mother a caregiver or just put her
in a home, and I pull open the glass
refrigerator door, am confronted
by brands—Arrowhead, Glitter Geyser,
Deer Park, spring, summer, winter water,
and clearly the bosses of bottled water:
Real Water and Smart Water—how different
will they taste? If I drink Smart Water
will I raise my IQ but be less authentic?
If I choose Real Water will I no longer
deny the truth, but will I attract confused,
needy people who’ll take advantage
of my realness by dumping their problems
on me, and will I be too stupid to help them
sort through their murky dilemmas?
I take no chances, buy them both,
sparkling smart, purified real, drain both bottles,
look around to see is anyone watching?
I’m now brilliantly hydrated.
Both real and smart my insides bubble
with compassion and intelligence
as I walk the streets with a new swagger,
knowing the world is mine.
Copyright Credit: Poem copyright ©2012 by Kim Dower, whose most recent book of poems is Slice of Moon, Red Hen Press, 2013. Poem reprinted from Barrow Street, Winter 2012/13, by permission of Kim Dower and the publisher.