All school subjects are dependent on language for learning and understanding.*

When I heard this haiku for the first time, I was mesmerized. 

long before language the S of the river

First of all, it was a monoku, which means rather than the normal three line haiku, 
it was a one-liner. The deep mystery resonated inside me instantly. One of those 
moments when you feel something profound, but it's a bit unfathomable. This poem 
was the first prize winner at the regional conference I was attending. One thing
 
that made this poem even more beautiful, was that the artist had created a picture 
with hand-painted and torn Japanese washi papers. I immediate contacted the author, 
and she sold it to me–the painting with the poem added—special order!. This poem 
went on to win the highest honor in the world of haiku. From over thirty countries
 
and thirteen hundred haiku, it was one of five poems chosen to win the annual 
Touchstone award for best haiku. Sometimes language is not needed to learn and to 
understand. Sometimes you just need to notice the natural world as it is to gain 
the pleasures of knowledge.

*p. 114, Reading in Secondary Content Areas, Fang and Schleppegrell