Many tributaries feed these rivers
each with a separate rate of freezing
and a separate rate of thaw.
Born in the snows that fall above the tree line
the streams descend
washing the alpine meadows and the wildflowers of spring
careening and gliding past the scattered summer huts of nomads
and down into the densely covered valleys
that burn intensely red in fall
converging into a thousand urgent rushings
or diverging into backwaters that just expire.
The maps, printed fresh each year
trace the interlacing of these waters
in splendid detail, yet still
record only the major confluences
leaving the eddies and hollows unnamed
and known by few.
Many tributaries feed these rivers
carrying cargo of many colors
before flowing into the sea.