koblenz

at the deutsche eck,
the confluence of two rivers,
the mosel and the rhein,

there is a corner of germany
of history, a monument,
an occasion to come together,

wenn ihr einig seit und treu,
under the shadow of kaiser wilhelm,
Nimmer wird das Reich zerstöret.

along the steep wineyards is kochem,
the cobbled streets and promenades
manned by a castle reconstruction,

the verbal mythology never reads
its own biography, that's past
up in the winding of river paths.

and out along the meandering valley,
burg eltz, over 800 years in the forest,
its courtyard a confluence of tourists,

this modern feudalism, the vassals
paying their lord a fealty, fidelitas,
a form of medieval realty.

in another town from another time,
in herrengasse we find fine rhein wine,
take to the hills with our bottle,

and behind that cork uncover a mystery,
a language we do not comprehend
in its limitless confluence of vowels.