Boatmen on the Rhine
Hear echoes of the Siren.
Water Nymph calling
from the cliffs of Lorelei.
Steering in for a closer look;
Her seductive voice was all it took…
to crash their boats in the rocky shallows.
Her voice was clear // they all could hear;
but no one ever really saw her.
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
Last summer this time, we were on a river cruise up the Rhine for our 50th Wedding Anniversary. Along the Middle Rhine we came to a prominent mountainous outcrop of rocks on the German side known as the Cliffs of Loreley (English – Lorelei) At the bottom of the rocky cliff the river is shallow and rocky and dangerous for boatmen. As the story goes, the water running over these shallows creates a humming sound that echoes off the rocks. The myth was told that it was a beautiful young girl called Loreley who called causing the boatman to crash their boats in the shallows. At the very top is a monument that says these cliffs are a UNESCO site.
De Jackson at d’Verse, asked us to write a poem about Sirens or Mermaids. There are any mythical stories going way back and in many different cultures. This one we experienced in real life!
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