Water

   











The water understands

   Civilization well;

   It wets my foot, but prettily,

   It chills my life, but wittily,

   It is not disconcerted,

   It is not broken-hearted:

   Well used, it decketh joy,

   Adorneth, doubleth joy:

   Ill used, it will destroy,

   In perfect time and measure

   With a face of golden pleasure

   Elegantly destroy.

   Ralph Waldo Emerson

   (Picture: Between the waves, Ivan Aivazovsky)