def find(C, node, path, namespaces=None, extensions=None, smart_strings=True, **args):
        """use Element.xpath() rather than Element.find() in order to normalize the interface"""
        xp = node.xpath(
            path,
            namespaces=namespaces or C.NS,
            extensions=extensions,
            smart_strings=smart_strings,
            **args
        )
        if len(xp) > 0:
            return xp[0]