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