Zywa: Poems

Apr 16 · 62

Zywa Apr 16

Deeds can't be undone,

doing them over you'll bear --

the burden double.

Comic strip #78 - "Heer Bommel gaat Het Overdoen" ("Sir Bumble is going To Do It Over", 1957-1958, Marten Toonder), tier 3291

Collection "**** & Lord"

#deeds #mistakes #undo #redo

Apr 16 · 64

[ If you lack wishes ]

Zywa Apr 16

[ If you lack wishes ]

If you lack wishes,

you will be trudging through life --

as through a desert.

Comic strip #80 - "Tom Poes en De Kwanten" ("Tom **** and The Quants", 1958, Marten Toonder), tier 3441

Collection "**** & Lord"

#wishes

Apr 15 · 83

[ People's wishes can ]

Zywa Apr 15

[ People's wishes can ]

People's wishes can

quite easily lead to a --

major short-circuit.

Comic strip #80 - "Tom Poes en De Kwanten" ("Tom **** and The Quants", 1958, Marten Toonder), tier 3443

Collection "**** & Lord"

#wishes #society

Apr 15 · 149

[ Modern construction ]

Zywa Apr 15

[ Modern construction ]

Modern Construction

regards doors as a problem --

and reinvents them.

Comic strip #81 - "Tom Poes en De beunhaas" ("Tom **** and The Fidler", 1958, Marten Toonder), tier 3463

Collection "**** & Lord"

#building #construction #doors

Apr 14 · 65

[ People who want all ]

Zywa Apr 14

[ People who want all ]

People who want all,

should be expecting problems --

with their digestion.

Ghazal 323 / Ode 323, "The moon smiles upon you" (13th century, Muhammad Jalal al-Dīn Balkhi Rumi)

Collection "Willegos"

#gluttony

Apr 14 · 53

[ Well, I've become who ]

Zywa Apr 14

[ Well, I've become who ]

Well, I've become who

I didn't want to be, and she --

is okay with it.

Theatre programme "Gut" ("Gosh", 2016-2017, Sanne Wallis de Vries)

Collection "Willegos"

#identity #life #personalgrowth

Apr 13 · 86

[ The Great Superboss ]

Zywa Apr 13

[ The Great Superboss ]

The Great Superboss

funes the stock markets: a crash --

of bulk moneyballs.

Comic strip #104 - "Heer Bommel en De Bovenbazen" ("Sir Bumble and The Superbosses", 1963, Marten Toonder)

Stock market manipulation by United States President Trump on April 4th, 2025

Collection "**** & Lord"

#capitalism #politics #insideroffence

Apr 13 · 117

[ Embittered by dregs ]

Zywa Apr 13

[ Embittered by dregs ]

Embittered by dregs

of liquorice, black and white --

speak with a black tongue.

Comic strip #96 - "Het boze oog" ("The Evil Eye", 1961, Marten Toonder), tier 4462

Collection "**** & Lord"

#gossip #intolerance #discrimination

Apr 12 · 156

[ Mirroring yourself ]

Zywa Apr 12

[ Mirroring yourself ]

Mirroring yourself

without ego on others:

a soft reflection.

Comic strip #58 - "Tom Poes en De Spiegelaar" ("The Mirrorer", 1953-1954, Marten Toonder), tier 2107

The saying 'wie zich aan een ander spiegelt, spiegelt zich zacht' means: 'one man's fault is another man's lesson'

Collection "**** & Lord"

#mirror #identity #ego

Apr 12 · 84

[ Apart from science ]

Zywa Apr 12

[ Apart from science ]

Apart from science

it is not allowed by law --

to tell the whole truth.

Comic strip #61 - "Tom Poes en De Waarzegger" ("Tom **** and The Truth Teller", 1954, Marten Toonder), tier 2310

Collection "**** & Lord"

#truth #society #discretion

Apr 11 · 55

[ Mama's don't believe ]

Zywa Apr 11

[ Mama's don't believe ]

Mama's don't believe

you, 'yeah yeah', they often say --

'but in the meantime!'

Novel "Het duister dat ons scheidt" (2003, "The darkness that separates us", Renate Dorrestein), part 1, 'Zes' ('Six' years old), chapter 'C is een crisis' ('C is a crisis')

Collection "Old sore"

#motherhood

Apr 11 · 68

[ We keep playing. When ]

Zywa Apr 11

[ We keep playing. When ]

We keep playing. When

mama's are acting up that's --

the best thing to do.

Novel "Het duister dat ons scheidt" (2003, "The darkness that separates us", Renate Dorrestein), part 1, 'Zes' ('Six' years old), chapter 'B is een brandnetel' ('B is a brandnetel [stinging nettle]')

Collection "Old sore"

#childhood

Apr 10 · 71

[ Behind man's success ]

Zywa Apr 10

[ Behind man's success ]

Behind man's success

there is a woman watching --

it in amazement!

Novel "Zonder genade" (2001, "Without mercy", 2004, Renate Dorrestein), part 1, 'In De Put' ('In The Dumps'), chapter 'Wat Jem altijd zei' ('What Jem always said')

Collection "Old sore"

#success

Apr 10 · 66

[ I'd like to invent ]

Zywa Apr 10

[ I'd like to invent ]

I'd like to invent

a board game with bad luck points --

if you were to lose.

Novel "Zonder genade" (2001, "Without mercy", 2004, Renate Dorrestein), part 3, 'Ga Terug Naar Af' ('Back To Square One'), chapter 'Wat Phinus bereikt' ('What Phinus achieves')

Collection "Old sore"

#game #justice

Apr 9 · 81

[ An unwanted guest ]

Zywa Apr 9

[ An unwanted guest ]

An unwanted guest:

that happens to Lords only --

in a scary dream.

Comic strip #48 - "Tom Poes en Het Wroeg-Wezen" ("Tom **** and The Remorse-being", 1952, Marten Toonder), tier 1608

Collection "**** & Lord"

#hospitality

Apr 9 · 45

[ Register in tri- ]

Zywa Apr 9

[ Register in tri- ]

Register in tri-

plicate please! the beadles plead:

your name and shoe size!

Comic strip #42 - "Tom Poes en Eh… dinges" ("Tom **** and Eh… whatever", 1950-1951, Marten Toonder), tier 1222

Collection "**** & Lord"

#order

Apr 8 · 164

[ I arch my shoulder ]

Zywa Apr 8

[ I arch my shoulder ]

I arch my shoulder

in fright, and zoom, away flies --

my guardian angel.

Novel "Ontaarde moeders" (1992, "Unnatural mothers", 1994, Renate Dorrestein), chapter 4, 'Veilig bij Moeder op schoot' ('Safe on Mother's lap')

Collection "Old sore"

#fear #menace #angel

Apr 8 · 93

[ There's a smell of food ]

Zywa Apr 8

[ There's a smell of food ]

There's a smell of food

in the hallways, it's Monday --

meat wrapped sausage day.

Novel "Ontaarde moeders" (1992, "Unnatural mothers", 1994, Renate Dorrestein), chapter 4, 'Veilig bij Moeder op schoot' ('Safe on Mother's lap') - Bacon-wrapped ground meat: in Belgium and the Netherlands called 'slavink'

Collection "Old sore"

#smell #routine #weeks #order

Apr 7 · 197

[ I sometimes receive ]

Zywa Apr 7

[ I sometimes receive ]

I sometimes receive

mail with no meaning attached:

an exchange parcel.

Comic strip #173 - "Heer Ollie en Een Bommelding" ("Sir Oliver and A Bomble-thing", 1983, Marten Toonder), tier 1387

Collection "**** & Lord"

#communication #post

Apr 7 · 98

[ My mind is made up ]

Zywa Apr 7

[ My mind is made up ]

My mind is made up:

I throw away all my lies!

Beware of the bang!

Comic strip #171 "Heer Bommel en De Antiloog" ("Sir Bumble and The Antiliar", 1982, Marten Toonder), tier 01167

Collection "**** & Lord"

#goodwill #lies #ethics

Apr 6 · 139

[ Let us sing of life ]

Zywa Apr 6

[ Let us sing of life ]

Let us sing of life

and of sorrow, let us toast --

to comfort ourselves.

Old Chinese poem: "The drinking song of earth's sorrow", 1908, Gustav Mahler, based on the free version by Hans Bethge from 1907, after "Bei gexing" by Li Bai [701-762], in a 1705 collection

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"

#comfort #life #together #social

Apr 6 · 79

[ Will it start soon? Or ]

Zywa Apr 6

[ Will it start soon? Or ]

Will it start soon? Or

has it already started?

Is it war right now?

Novella "Tralievader" (1991, "Nightfather", 1994, Carl Friedman), chapter 'Greuelmärchen' (Atrocity story)

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"

#war #thinking

Apr 5 · 214

[ Evening, I'm alone ]

Zywa Apr 5

[ Evening, I'm alone ]

Evening, I'm alone,

in and outside my cabin --

And it's getting dark.

Poem by the monk ("Hoshi") Ryosen (?-828): Sabishisa ni / Yado o tachi idete / Nagamureba / Izuko mo onaji / Aki no yugure

Collection "Shelter"

#alone #evening

Apr 5 · 105

[ We like it with you ]

Zywa Apr 5

[ We like it with you ]

We like it with you,

not sitting at home alone --

just the two of us.

Theatre play "Lichaam & Blik" ("Body & Look", 1986, Willem Jan Otten), 1st scene

Collection "Shelter"

#together #boredom

Apr 4 · 75

Night by day

Zywa Apr 4

Night by day

She lies, no, she does not
she is sick, terribly sick
Let us pray for her
save her if she wants it
if she kneels for mercy

We appeal to her
conscience, her shame
and to the night
in which no one can live
who has known the light

She is hysterical
sedate her
cut it out
of her brain
or short-circuit it

Out-of-home placement
not for protection
but cast out
as a liar
among the righteous

Documentary "Ik was een kind" ("I was a child", 2025, Geertjan Lassche): the story of Anneloes van 't Licht

Until recently, a woman who made a scene about her husband's adultery could be treated for hysteria with a lobotomy or electric shocks

Princess Nyctimene ('she who stays up at night') was turned into an owl as punishment for fleeing into the forest after being ***** by her father

Nyctimene is also the name of a genus of bats

Collection "Half The Work"

#abuse

Apr 4 · 69

[ Compulsion has no ]

Zywa Apr 4

[ Compulsion has no ]

Compulsion has no

perpetrators, just victims --

and accomplices.

Collection "Half The Work"

#compulsion #victims #accomplices

Apr 3 · 164

[ The sound of the wind ]

Zywa Apr 3

[ The sound of the wind ]

The sound of the wind

and the water comforts me --

Tell him of my love!

Air "Zeffiretti, che sussurrate" ("Solely through you, my sweet love") from the opera "Orlando finto pazzo" ("Orlando, the fake madman", 1714, RV 727, on which the 1723 air "Onde chiara che sussussurate" from the opera "Ercole su'l Termodonte" is based, RV 749.21 and 749.31 [with a second soprano as echo], Antonio Vivaldi), libretto Grazio Braccioli, based on the epic "Orlando innamorato" ("Orlando in love", 1495, Matteo Maria Boiardo) - Origille

Collection "Love Mind and Death"

#love #comfort #communication #inlove

Apr 3 · 113

[ Heart of my heart, soul ]

Zywa Apr 3

[ Heart of my heart, soul ]

Heart of my heart, soul

of my soul, show yourself, then --

I will be happy.

Air "Vedrò con mio diletto" ("With delight I will look"), from the opera "Giustino" (Emperor "Justin", 1724, libretto Nicolò Beregan, music Antonio Vivaldi, RV 717), 1st act, 8th scene - emperor Anastasio

Collection "Love Mind and Death"

#inlove #insecurity #love

Apr 2 · 88

[ Why aren't there any ]

Zywa Apr 2

[ Why aren't there any ]

Why aren't there any

pills against amorousness:

Anti-Amorine?

Novella "Gala" (2003, Ronald Giphart), chapter 'Elkaars nieren' ('Each other's reins')

Collection "Em Brace"

#inlove #amorousness #love

Apr 2 · 187

[ Oh, so passionate ]

Zywa Apr 2

[ Oh, so passionate ]

Oh, so passionate

is the spring wind! It's blowing --

my skirts wide open.

Song poem "How lovely are the spring blossoms" (AD 450, Anonymous [China] - collection 'Songs of Midnight of the Four Seasons')

Collection "Em Brace"

#intimacy #wind #spring

Apr 1 · 129

[ The cat looks at me ]

Zywa Apr 1

[ The cat looks at me ]

The cat looks at me

with luminous eyes, asking --

she accepts my hand.

Poem "Uit Egyptische ogen" ("With Egyptian eyes", 1962, Hanny Michaelis)

Collection "Em Brace"

#cat

Apr 1 · 324

[ Women being watched ]

Zywa Apr 1

[ Women being watched ]

Women being watched

when they enter, nervously --

cling to their handbags.

Autobiography "Een leeg huis" ("An empty house", 1966, Marga Minco)

Collection "Em Brace"

#women

Mar 31 · 109

[ Singing together ]

Zywa Mar 31

[ Singing together ]

Singing together

in a circle we pass on --

our breath wavily.

Composition "Eclipsed Vision" (2006, Kate Moore), a never ending song for everyone, for large choir, performed by Focus Vocaal, the VU Chamber choir, and the Herz Ensemble Singers in the Organpark on February 14th, 2025

Collection "org anp ARK" #92

#together #community #breath

Mar 31 · 87

[ Everyone is still ]

Zywa Mar 31

[ Everyone is still ]

Everyone is still

asleep when I leave, the woods --

blur me step by step.

Composition "Forest", poem "En el bosque de los pomelos lunares" ("In the forest of the lunar grapefruits", 1921, Federico García Lorca), music Aspasia Nasopoulou (2013, for soprano and accordion), performed in het Organpark on March 29th, 2025 by Kristia Michael (soprano) and Claudio Jacomucci (accordion)

Collection "org anp ARK" #106

#leaving

Mar 30 · 124

[ The pool is the gate ]

Zywa Mar 30

[ The pool is the gate ]

The pool is the gate

through which you can escape, if --

you are not afraid.

Novel "Sekai no owari to Hado-boirudo Wandarando" (1985, "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", 1991, Haruki Murakami), chapter 38, 'Escape'

Collection "Within the walls"

#fear #escape #uncertainty

Mar 30 · 172

[ I plod on, with my ]

Zywa Mar 30

[ I plod on, with my ]

I plod on, with my

shadow on my back, flat and --

yet very heavy.

Novel "Sekai no owari to Hado-boirudo Wandarando" (1985, "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", 1991, Haruki Murakami), chapter 38, 'Escape'

Collection "Within the walls"

#life #burden #shadow

Mar 29 · 135

[ Life is short, with a ]

Zywa Mar 29

[ Life is short, with a ]

Life is short, with a

lot of evils. I keep that --

back from my children.

Poem "Good bones" (2016, Maggie Smith)

Collection "Unseen"

#evil #education #growingup

Mar 29 · 56

[ I'm interested ]

Zywa Mar 29

[ I'm interested ]

I'm interested

in religions, and God is --

interested too?

Statement by Renate Rubinstein: "Ik ben gek op godsdienst. Ik vind ze allemaal even leuk. Wat dat betreft ben ik net God." ("Religion is great. I like them all equally. In that respect I'm just like God.")

Collection "Unseen"

#religions

Mar 28 · 79

[ Death is put away ]

Zywa Mar 28

[ Death is put away ]

Death is put away,

or it is lost, forgotten --

again and again.

Poem "Dis wat die dood doen" ("That's what death does", 2016, Ronelda Kamfer)

Collection "Here &Now&"

#death #life #lifeanddeath

Mar 28 · 126

[ The table top is ]

Zywa Mar 28

[ The table top is ]

The table top is

sticky, the handle too, I'll --

better wash my hands?

Poem "Het plakt" ("Sticky", 2019, Leander Vaes), included in the collection "Poëziejongens" ("Poetry Boys") by Mustafa Kör

Collection "Here &Now&"

#thinking

Mar 27 · 231

[ He is back, being ]

Zywa Mar 27

[ He is back, being ]

He is back, being

a foreigner in the land --

he longed for so much.

Novella "Tralievader" (1991, "Nightfather", 1994, Carl Friedman), chapter 'Vreemdeling' (Foreigner) - [1] Odysseus, [2] people who survived a German **** concentration camp, [3] ...

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"

#return #longing #displaced #foreigner

Mar 27 · 115

[ I cough a little ]

Zywa Mar 27

[ I cough a little ]

I cough a little,

it sounds muffled, like a thump --

on a concrete wall.

Novel "Sekai no owari to Hado-boirudo Wandarando" (1985, "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", 1991, Haruki Murakami), chapter 1, 'Elevator, silence, overweight'

Collection "Within the walls"

#silence #cough #elevator

Mar 26 · 52

[ The heart as a drum ]

Zywa Mar 26

[ The heart as a drum ]

The heart as a drum,

and the mouth as a trumpet:

that's a human life.

Poem by the Zen-monk Muso Soseki (1274-1351), included in the 1986 collection "Japanese Death Poems", compiled by Yoel Hoffmann: "Thus have I rolled my life throughout / inside and out, reclined, upright / What is all this? / A beating drum / a trumpet’s blare / No more"

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"

#humanlife #life

Mar 26 · 51

[ A grand scenery ]

Zywa Mar 26

[ A grand scenery ]

A grand scenery,

it makes my presence smaller --

and also my thoughts.

Novel "Tutto il cielo che serve" ("All the sky you need", 2022, Franco Faggiani), page 175

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"

#landscape #earth #motherearth #littleness

Mar 25 · 562

[ Love is a moon, it ]

Zywa Mar 25

[ Love is a moon, it ]

Love is a moon, it

changes from day to day, there's --

increase, there's decrease.

Novel "De stiefmoeder" (2011, "The Stepmother", Renate Dorrestein), part 'Claire', chapter Five

L'amore è come la luna: quando non aumenta, diminuisce (Love is like the moon: when it does not increase, it decreases)

Collection "Old sore"

#love #changes

Mar 25 · 59

[ The flawless bellhop ]

Zywa Mar 25

[ The flawless bellhop ]

The flawless bellhop

carefully lays my suitcase --

down like a loved one.

Novel "De stiefmoeder" (2011, "The Stepmother", Renate Dorrestein), part 'Claire', chapter One

Collection "Old sore"

#care #bellhop

Mar 24 · 121

[ I stand helpless in ]

Zywa Mar 24

[ I stand helpless in ]

I stand helpless in

the lake, where is the vulture --

that will rescue me?

From poem "1" in the collection "Hogere natuurkunde" ("Higher Physics", 2019, Ellen Deckwitz), page 16-17

Collection "Death on Cast"

#fear #dream #vulture

Mar 24 · 64

[ Plenty of spotlights ]

Zywa Mar 24

[ Plenty of spotlights ]

Plenty of spotlights

under the bridge, spooky, what --

could have happened here?

From poem "3" in the collection "Hogere natuurkunde" ("Higher Physics", 2019, Ellen Deckwitz), page 26 (-27)

Collection "Death on Cast"

#fantasy #associations

Mar 23 · 87

Bacon and beans

Zywa Mar 23

Bacon and beans

There's nothing to eat in the kitchen
of Charles Frank Watchman
born here in this town

and deceased last winter
We polish the worktop
made from his gravestone

There is not a scratch on it
The coffin in which he lay
have we traded for

nothing, bacon and beans
Times are changing
but inequality is not

no matter how many marches
we walk to the Great Golden
White, Pink, or Blue House

La Casona (Great House) in Caracas, Domus Aurea (Golden House) of Emperor Nero in Rome, White House in Washington DC, Bely Dom (White House) in Moscow and Bishkek, Casa Rosada (Pink House) in Buenos Aires, Cheong Wa Dae (Pavilion of Blue Tiles) in Seoul, and Plavi Dvorac (Blue Palace) in Cetinje

"Mijn zwagers in Venezuela bleken kilo's afgevallen" ("My brothers-in-law in Venezuela turned out to have lost kilos", September 5th, 2016, Koen Greven in NRC)

Collection "On living on [2]"

#poverty #politics

Mar 23 · 86

[ Well, could a fifth wheel ]

Zywa Mar 23

[ Well, could a fifth wheel ]

Well, could a fifth wheel

ever be useful as an --

emergency wheel?

Collection "On living on [2]"

#society