Rhône

Upon the Rhône we drift, where morning’s fingers gild The river’s silver breast and wake the willows still; From Arles, where Roman stones and old renown remain, To Beaucaire’s rocky watch above the steely main.

At Barthelasse, broad and green, the quiet orchards lie, While Avignon, with papal crown, lifts towers to the sky; Her bridge half-gone, her walls yet whole, her cloisters old and fair,
Keeps time as though the centuries had tangled in her hair.

Then Châteauneuf, wine-throned and warm beneath the sun, Where popes once raised a castle, and their earthly days were done;
Then Ancone small, and Viviers high in bishop’s proud array, Where cathedrals guard the cliffs and bless the traveler’s way.

Châteauneuf-du-Rhône and Coucourde, Le Pouzin in turn, La Voulte with its river-bend where hidden embers burn; Then Tournon’s keep, Saint-Jean-de-Muzols, and Gervans by the vine, Serves, Arras, Ozon—each shore a note in nature’s line.

So onward sails the longship, sleek as legend’s carved device, Through France’s heart of stone and grape, through water, wind, and spice;
And as the Rhône flows seaward on, so in our hearts shall stay The hush of dusk on ancient banks and dawn on every day.

The Ring Cycle Operas

In Seattle’s halls, where Wagner once did reign, Frank and Lisa yearned for Ring’s refrain. From Rheingold’s depths to Walküre’s might,
Siegfried’s tale and Götterdämmerung’s light.

To Neuschwanstein they journeyed far, Where Ludwig’s dream touched every star. Wotan’s wisdom, Fricka’s grace, In stone and paint, each found its place.

Donner’s thunder, Freia’s youth, Loge’s cunning, Erda’s truth. Through arches round and towers high, Wagner’s world did touch the sky. In halls where Parsifal once sung, And Lohengrin’s sweet tale was spun, Our couple walked, their hearts aflame, With Ring’s grand vision all the same.

Now back in Seattle, hope burns bright, That opera’s stage will soon ignite. With sets as grand
as Ludwig’s dream, May Wagner’s Ring once more gleam. In this decade, let it be, The cycle whole for all to see. From Neuschwanstein’s lofty height,
To Seattle’s stage, Ring’s pure delight.