In a castle

Asleep on his watch

up there is the old knight;

above move rainshowers,

and the wood rustles through the grill.

Beard and hair grown into one,

chest and ruff have turned to stone;

he sits for many hundreds of years

above in his silent den.

Outside it is quiet and peaceful:

all have taken to the valley;

woodbirds sing alone

in the empty arching windows.

A wedding passes by below

on the Rhine, in the sunlight:

musicians play gaily

and the fair bride - she weeps.