The Rhine Valley

The Rhine Valley

The flat Rhine Valley
Greens under threatening skies
Then climbs out of itself
Into the hills of the Odenwald
That echo with rolls of thunder
Or almost forgotten hoof beats
Of the Knights of the Nibelung
Out for their spring hunt.

Rain starts on the opposite hillsides
Covered with hardwood forest
And gray rocky outcrops
A rainbow is exposed mid-flight
Lying low, near the ground
Unsure if the beggar's riches
Lie in the ruins of a crumbling castle
Or in the vineyard at the feet of the windmill
That turns in the breeze of time.