Alsace-Lorraine

“Ribeauville, in the Vosges”
Art Print by Harrison Compton
From ebay.com

gothic castles mount
picturesque outcrops
ruined jewels adorn valleys
where prized heirloom grape
fruits a rich blend of cultures
French German and Swiss
a bittersweet confluence
steeped in the conflicts
of armies and nations
since Rome lost its outpost
to Alemann tribes

but for now it’s a calm place
with placid agrarian splendors
tranquility playing to hearts
of proud natives and granting
esthetic affinities tourists
of natural grandeur derive
from lush forested montane
perceived in this flourishing
post-modern era as worthy
of resting the soul
between wars