On the banks of a river stands a house. The motif is intentionally kept simple as a foundation for everything else, comparable to a triad in music. Nothing more specific is said about the house, its inhabitants, and the river. Everything is possible. The house can be inhabited or empty, the river a polluted sludge or a clear, gently bubbling stream. The dwelling can be a villa or a hovel. Trees may be nearby, perhaps even fruit-bearing ones that entice not only children with their delights according to the seasons. Each variant represents nothing but a possibility; everything could always be different.

Helmuth A. Niederle, born in 1949 in Vienna, lives there and in the village of Streifing located in the Weinviertel region. He is the author of numerous book publications (prose, poetry, and translations). His most recent works include: "Bauplatz der Vergeblichkeit. Gedichte" (2018), "Galerie der Ahnungen. Gedichte wider die Farbdiktatur" (2019), "Die Nachtwache der Schiffbrüchigen. Lyrik" (2020). Since 2011, he has been the president of the Austrian PEN Club.