So studies of water, though free from aridity Are apt to produce a good deal of turbidity.

From “The Feather River Anthology or “Holy Water’” 1962.

Ode, on the General Subject of Water

by Kenneth Boulding

Water is far from a simple commodity,

Water’s a sociological oddity

Water’s a pasture for science to forage in,

Water’s a mark of our dubious origin,

Water’s a link with a distant futurity,

Water’s a symbol of ritual purity,

Water is politics, water’s religion,

Water is just about anyone’s pigeon

Water is frightening, water’s endearing,

Water’s a lot more than mere engineering,

Water is tragical, water is comical,

Water is far from the Pure Economical,

So studies of water, though free from aridity

Are apt to produce a good deal of turbidity.