Skating the Danube

The Danube’s Waltz

From Germany’s Black Forest springs its song,

A ribbon of silver winding long.

Through ten proud nations it glides with grace,

From Western hills to the Black Sea’s embrace.

A lifeline of traders, empires, and kings,

Its banks have witnessed monumental things.

Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade dance by,

To Johann Strauss’ melody floating high.

In winters harsh, its waters may sleep,

Ice-bound stretches where skaters leap.

The delta blooms with a thousand wings,

Where reeds whisper and the nightingale sings.

A queen, a divider, a unifier too,

Binding the old lands with waters true.

The Danube flows — a timeless thread,

A river of stories, where past is wed.