In the sea without lees Standeth the bird of Hermes Eating his wings variable And maketh himself yet full stable When all his feathers be from him gone He standeth still here as a stone Here is now both white and red And all so the stone to quicken the dead All and some without fable Both hard and soft and malleable Understand now well and right And thank you God of this sight. The bird of Hermes is my name eating my wings to make me tame. In war and market place. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Water flows around things rather than trying to move them. In doing so it sustains its momentum and reaches its destination. <-tranlation-> In the end, success lies in the hands of the individual soldier, who must respond to the situation in front of him, right now. At the same time, commanders must direct the flow of troops to best advantage. aka adapt.