Only the most skilled

Clamp on their ice-spikes and

Venture to the inaccessible heights of

The Himalayans, but even they are

Unaware that far beneath the ice and

Snow on which they climb lie

Granite fissures that slowly sip the

Pure snow being gently warmed by

Molten fires miles below.

Just a trickle of pristine water,

Clearer than the clearest crystal,

Finds it’s kind deep inside the 

Towering peaks and forms a

Rivulet that bubbles to the

Surface thousands of feet

Below the crest to form a

Perfect untainted mountain spring.

Millions of years, glaciers, snows, rains, and winds

Carved the crevice that separates the

Singular spring into two.

One falls violently. The other with grace.

Religion

One becomes angry as it absorbs

Man’s pollutants from soil and air.

It fights and rages against the 

Injustice, ripping trees and boulders,

Stirring sands, campsites, and trash

Until the dam.

But it is not placid, nor will it surrender

To the dullness of the choking reservoir.

The bitterness stirs deep within until,

Aided by torrential rains sent by

Furious gods, it rips and explodes the

Concrete wall and ferociously takes

Revenge on downstream towns

Inhabited by the species that

Polluted its ancestors. 

It is at war.

The Way

High above, its sister took a different path.

Unobtrusive, it winds its unsullied water

Along gentle paths dotted with

Kindly sprays of quiet falls

Through alpine flowers where

Fawns and lambs quench their 

Thirst, bulbul and monal dance,

Home to mahseer, baby rabbits, 

Red panda, tahr, snow leopard and 

Snow partridge. Warmed by thermal

Features below and summer sun above,

It softly cascades into a transparent

Pool where naked lovers play.