The river carves out a path across the earth
like a snake moving side to side
as the wind moves through the yielding grass
The water in the stream moves in the same way
gliding and swirling around the polished stones
Fish in the streaming water
swim like the snake bending side to side
in and out, through and around the rocks
The sand in the creek bed, its ripples
sculpted by the water like fish scales and bones,
mirrored in the sky as ribs in the clouds
formed by the wind
Perhaps the wind and water taught
the snake and fish how to be