Beethoven Loved The Rhine, by Oliver Brown

BEETHOVEN LOVED THE RHINE
by Oliver Brown

Bird-headed frogs appear in pairs
They're dressed in lace and sit behind the maiden
The curtains raise to show a play
Of pony-girls indebted to a raven

The crocodile who loved the night
Arrived in time to see the Queen retiring
The banjo echoed through the hall
A firefly kept guard until the morning

Beethoven loved
Beethoven loved
Beethoven loved the Rhine

At 3 AM behind the stairs
Loose-living Kings dissolve the League of Nations
The fiddler crab won't bat an eye
An ivory plaque sinks in among impatiens

Miss Emma wrote an anagram
Immortalized, she summoned a moonshiner
Hypnotic ginger rabbit-hole
Green dragon wax soft pepper-haired eye-liner

Beethoven loved
Beethoven loved
Beethoven loved the Rhine

She rubs her hand across my face
Her fingers smell like cigarettes and whiskey
To kiss each tip makes time machines
The moon is Mars and beercans mark the history

Beethoven loved
Beethoven loved
Beethoven loved the Rhine