PENKNIFE

the waters in their wild course warned me;
begins the book of history
snakes and dragons sit upon the floodland
lowlanders are living in the trees

highlanders have taken to the uplands
digging out the mountains to make caves
the birds and beasts and savage dangerous creatures
are constricted to the land above the waves

the kingdom in the middle inundated
shun recruited yao for to employ
reduce these wild waters into order
drive the snakes and dragons with your ploy

the waters of the jiang, the huai and the he and the han
the dangers and obstructions being removed;
returned to order, the waters kept their border
then a period of confusion, confused

this poem comes from studying chinese ancient history. “the waters in their wild course warned me” would never be a thing i wouldn’t write down somewhere. not just the repeating w sound, but the bounce and trounce of the phrase, the implied emphasis, and of course the meaning, of being guided and spoken to by wild elements of nature. druidic stuff.