A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words (Or, Exactly Fifty, with the Song It Reminds Me Of Attached): My Valley

Photo by @wakeupkitty, used for the express purpose of responding to this Freewriters Initiative

Describe what you see: A small hill, coming down into a small valley on a cloudy spring or summer day … calm … such greens and whites and purples and earth tones even on the buildings

Describe what you feel: The scene reminds me of a song by Richard Strauss: “Das Thal,” or “The Valley,” (look for it below the word count proof) and what one finds out is that the character in the song is coming back home and is overjoyed, to the point that he desires only, when he weakens and passes away, to be buried in the valley and give himself so it can bloom on … so if that were home, humble as it appears (because I live in the San Souci Valley area of what today is San Francisco), that valley would look almost like heaven to me!

Now it was harder; the years told on the knees. Even walking down the gentle side of the hill was hard.

Yet Richard relished every painful step. To be home, in his valley, never to leave it again – he burst into song, and added joy to the valley's summer beauty.

And here is "Das Thal," sung by Kurt Möll with such joyful passion that even if you do not speak German, you will STILL feel it...

(@beeber -- this is the rejoicing elder sibling to "Der Einsame"!)