Alchemy in the Valley

Original DDE™  quadart: “Winederland” by: rob kistner © 10/30/25

—-<§>—-

between equinox and solstice

the vines lean heavy

their tendrils jeweled with dusk

of Pacific Northwest sundowns

 

in the hush before harvest

the valleys and the foothills

glow with a slow intoxication—

 

the air itself tastes of promise

 

grape clusters

swell to bursting

 

skins deepening to blue black

violet

golden green —

 

god fire…

 

the pulp’n leaves

of gold  rust and tan

whisper of endings

they have learned to love

 

a red hawk drifts high over the foothills

its shadow cutting through sweetness

 

soon careful knowing hands

will gather this fruit of dreams

   then crush these sun-orbs of summer

to pour into waiting vats of oak

 

wood that has known decades of secrets

echoing with fermentation’s hymn

to cradle it until the magic happens

until… “It’s Alive” *

 

the scent will rise—

earth — berry — yeast and miracle —

it will spill into the cool night

like incense from a slow prayer

 

somewhere a vintner hums softly

listening for the first stir of magic

that moment when juice becomes spirit

and labor becomes art

 

I watch the valley breathe

vineyard and vision

in a dance I understand—

 

we too are grapes ripening

toward some unseen wine

 

pressed by time

aged by longing

becoming…even now

something divine —

blessed here in this paradise

 

—-<§>—-

 

* Victor Frankenstein, Frankenstein (1931)

 

rob kistner © 10/30/25

Poetry at: dVerse