How Creeks Got There

How Creeks Got There

My slice of Rock Run Creek flowed north to south
Crossing Houck Road at bottom of the dirt lane hill.
Creeks wind their way through the hilly countryside
Mining easiest cuts through the more soluble soils.
They have no design other than an ease of passage,
Getting to the bottom, eroding away, seeking oceans.

On Houck Road our house perched on a south ridge
That terminated at the French Creek, St. Peters,Pa.
About four miles south. How many eons must pass
For all the eroded soils to filter away down stream ?
The valley is from ridge top to ridge top, maybe a half
Mile wide and a hundred feet deep, that's a lot of silt.

We perceive creeks as some topographic character
Designed in place like a canal drawn on a blueprint.
They're not, no way, they meander to Nature's Laws.
Gravity draws water down to its very lowest level,
Soils dilute in water while heavier particles suspend
Tumbling along lightly grinding their way, scarifying.

A wondrous fluid, water, is so soft, yet so mighty;
Just look at the Grand Canyon and interpolate it.
Try picking up a handful of water and feel it filter
Through your fingers, watch water dissolve flavors
Like coffee and sugar for your early morning's sips.

And then, return to a vision of a deep valley with a
Strong stream meandering through the countryside.
Imagine the enormous power and energy needed to
Cut and carry away all the soil that at one time
Filled the valley. How many millions or billions of
Years was the span of time needed to accomplish
This grand task which works, 24/7's, 365 days a year.

Just look around you, those of you who live in these
Foothills of The Appalachian Mountains and see
Streams and valleys everywhere.
How did they get
There ? The answer is, yes, by the power of lowly
Water. Water over time flowing downhill is a very,
Very powerful, exceedingly so, a grand excavator.


Rock Run Creek is still there working away as it has
All these millennium without a break from its labor,and
Will be working away long after we're all gone. If
Only we humans had such tenacity to stick to the
The purpose of our labor. Never under estimate the
Vast power of water since you already know our
Bodies are made up of mostly water. Water is truly
A precious fluid, treat it well, it will serve you well.

Ronald C. Downie