No!

Ralf Albert Franz

Does the storm whistle?

Does a little mite nag?

Do the hoots

of owls

resound from high in the tower?

No!

It is the end of the gallows'

thick noose,

groaning,

as if it were

in the middle of a gallop,

an exhausted mare, parched with thirst,

headed toward the nearest trough

(which might be quite far away).