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Apr 2024 · 351
[ The birches are called ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The birches are called

silvery white, yeah, language --


can be very poor.
Story "Dichtertje" ("Little poet", 1918, Nescio), written in 1917, chapter 10

Collection "Rasping ants"
Apr 2024 · 406
[ Time is fluid, here ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Time is fluid, here

on the plane, we are floating --


in moments of now.
Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapter (4-) 19

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 256
[ We were citizens ]
Zywa Apr 2024
We were citizens,

and suddenly our faith has --


become suspicious.
Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapters (2-) 13 and (3-) 18

State of Emergency in India 1975-1977, declared under Indira Gandhi; oppression of political opponents and non-Hindus

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 246
[ Tall bite tales wander ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Tall bite tales wander

about and attach themselves --


to amputations.
Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapter (3-) 16

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 480
[ Mass of supporters ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Mass of supporters

times corruption-degree squared --


makes a dynasty.
Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapter (2-) 15

Bharat's (India's) variation of E=mc2 (Energy = mass * lightspeed square) is: D=mc2 (Dynasty = mass-of-supporters * corruption square)

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 147
[ I don't have a hold ]
Zywa Apr 2024
I don't have a hold,

with others, he never looks --


at me lovingly.
Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapter (4-) 20

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 439
[ Philosophy does ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Philosophy does

not help you to become learned --


but to be virtuous.
Collection "Ta eis heauton" - 5:9 ("Things to one's self" / "Meditations", 161-180, Marcus Aurelius)

Collection "Known"
Apr 2024 · 293
[ Now we have to talk ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Now we have to talk,

of shoes, ships, piggy wings, and --


a nice appetite.
Having a good conversation with the oysters before you eat them

Poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter" in the children's book "Through the Looking-Glass", chapter 4 (1871, Lewis Carroll)

Collection "Here &Now&"
Zywa Apr 2024
The beach would be great

if it did not shine so much --


from the blazing sun.
Poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter" in the children's book "Through the Looking-Glass", chapter 4 (1871, Lewis Carroll)

Collection "Here &Now&"
Apr 2024 · 434
[ Teardrop diamonds ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Teardrop diamonds,

frozen on my eyelashes:


beautiful sadness.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 1-1 "The perforated sheet"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 475
[ I rule out myself ]
Zywa Apr 2024
I rule out myself

when reading, so I can hear --


what is being said.
Philological study "The Text of the Epistles. A Disquisition upon the Corpus Paulinum" (2007, Günther Zuntz) - "Lesen heißt mit fremden Kopfe denken" ("Reading is thinking with other people's minds"), cited in the philological study "Geschreven en toegeschreven" ("Scribed and Ascribed", 2013, Charles Vergeer), § 7.A: "Lezen is zich verdiepen in een tekst. Luisteren naar de toon en de stem van de tekst zoals we luisteren naar muziek." ("Reading is going into a text. Listening to the tone and voice of the text like we listen to music")

Collection "Glimpsed"
Apr 2024 · 437
[ We shout many views ]
Zywa Apr 2024
We shout many views,

are seldom examining --


our very standpoints.
Poem "(work in progress) 'n meerstemmige teks: pogings om die wit staar aan myself te verduidelik - poging 3" ("(work in progress) a part-text: attempts to explain the white stare to myself - attempt 3", 2022, Antjie Krog)

Collection "Unseen"
Apr 2024 · 129
[ Being bored deeply ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Being bored deeply

is a vague experience --


of all that exists.
"Die Langeweile offenbare das Seiende im Ganzen" ("Boredom reveals entities in the whole"), in: "Was ist Metaphysik?" ("What is metaphysics?", 1929, Martin Heidegger)

Collection "Unseen"
Apr 2024 · 357
[ A freethinker thinks]
Zywa Apr 2024
A freethinker thinks

about questions, the answers --


he doesn't want to hear.
Novel "Een tevreden lach" ("A happy smile", 1965, Andreas Burnier), chapter "The train" --- Collection "Unseen"
Apr 2024 · 316
[ The holiday guests]
Zywa Apr 2024
The holiday guests

stay away, I imagine --


a quite poor reason.
Novel "Buiten is het maandag" ("Outside, it's Monday", 2003, J. Bernlef), part 1, chapter 10 --- Collection "Unseen"
Apr 2024 · 1.4k
[ The evening twilight ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The evening twilight.

Tipping up, I see the white --


scuts of the rabbits.
Novel "Buiten is het maandag" ("Outside, it's Monday", 2003, J. Bernlef), part 6, chapter 2 --- Collection "SoulSenseSun"
Apr 2024 · 143
[ A cow is a cow ]
Zywa Apr 2024
A cow is a cow,

anywhere in the world she --


looks at you deeply.
Novel "Buiten is het maandag" ("Outside, it's Monday", 2003, J. Bernlef), part 5, chapter 1 --- Collection "SoulSenseSun"
Apr 2024 · 128
[ God is like a sound ]
Zywa Apr 2024
God is like a sound,

He's everywhere, wherever --


there is space, He sounds.
"La Caravane de la Poésie" in 1999 - Tuareg poet Eraf Hawad speaks about the nomadic way of life --- Tale "A Change of tongue" (2003, Antjie Krog)

Collection "Held/True"
Apr 2024 · 153
[ As if God sees us ]
Zywa Apr 2024
As if God sees us

like the people on tv --


look blindly at us?
After the novella "Het theater, de brief en de waarheid" ("The theatre, the letter and the truth", 2000, Harry Mulisch), chapter 1

Collection "Held/True"
Apr 2024 · 169
[ The minaret sticks ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The minaret sticks

accusingly in our house --


its shadow finger.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-14 "Jamila Singer"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 289
[ The flower necklace ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The flower necklace,

she throws it away, doesn't want --


to be manacled.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-5 "Love in Bombay"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 1.8k
[ Unfortunately ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Unfortunately

none of my birthday guests know --


how to celebrate.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-6 "My tenth birthday"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 230
[ The words she spits out ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The words she spits out

rip open everyone's skin --


like a vast, barbed net.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-6 "My tenth birthday"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 482
[ Everything happens ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Everything happens

to me, nonetheless I am --


the protagonist.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-9 "The Kolynos Kid"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 229
[ I know I'm destined ]
Zywa Apr 2024
I know I'm destined

for great deeds, however, first --


I've to finish school.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-8 "Alpha and Omega"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 424
[ He's vulnerable ]
Zywa Apr 2024
He's vulnerable,

just look at the craquelure --


over grandpa's eyes.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-11 "Revelations"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 232
[ For 5,000 years ]
Zywa Apr 2024
For 5,000 years,

people have been dreaming, will --


they ever wake up?
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-9 "The Kolynos Kid"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 107
[ Ghosts see everything ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Ghosts see everything,

including us, like we see --


them: vaguely present.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-3 "Sam and the Tiger"
Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 175
[ Her hatred sits there ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Her hatred sits there

like a gecko, I can smell --


its stench of *****.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 2-15 "How Saleem achieved purity"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 426
[ A night of sucking ]
Zywa Apr 2024
A night of *******

on sleeping bodies, and then --


the leeches explode.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-2 "In the Sundarbans"

Collection "Low gear"
Zywa Apr 2024
Don't mourn for the dead,

grieve only for the living --


Do it for yourself.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-1 "The buddha" (old man)

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 253
[ The soldiers scurry ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The soldiers scurry

away from what I don't want --


and not can believe.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-3 "Sam and the Tiger"

Collection "Low gear"
Zywa Apr 2024
Our soldiers wouldn't do

anything like that, we dream --


It can not be true.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-3 "Sam and the Tiger"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 240
[ The calls for prayer ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The calls for prayer

freeze and fall in empty streets --


as sacred snowflakes.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-5 "A wedding"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 2.1k
[ Being a hero ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Being a hero,

still thoroughly despised --


for some bad manners.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-5 "A wedding"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 256
[ In the private club ]
Zywa Apr 2024
In the private club,

the hostesses are blind, eyes --


painted on the lids.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-7 "Abracadabra"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 406
[ A person must learn ]
Zywa Apr 2024
A person must learn,

there are no suns anywhere --


that don't cast shadows.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-7 "Abracadabra": We must live, I'm afraid, with the shadows of imperfection

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 400
[ The world does exist ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The world does exist,

finally I know for sure:


I am dying there.
Novel "The Satanic Verses" (1988, Salman Rushdie), chapter 9 A wonderful lamp

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 330
[ An imperfection ]
Zywa Apr 2024
An imperfection

is a shadow in your life --


with thanks to the sun.
Novel "Midnight's Children" (1981, Salman Rushdie), chapter 3-7 "Abracadabra": We must live, I'm afraid, with the shadows of imperfection

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 283
[ Cities put their faith ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Cities put their faith

in citizens, villages --


put their faith in god.
Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapter A house divided, (1-) 4

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 270
[ The biggest taboo ]
Zywa Apr 2024
The biggest taboo

is of course, ouch, your parents' --


sexuality.
Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapter A house divided, (1-) 7

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 332
[ Family demands ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Family demands

obedience, love isn't --


invulnerable.
Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapter A house divided, (1-) 7

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 226
[ Waiving happiness ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Waiving happiness

and suffering for the truth:


a better country.
Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru

Novel "The Moor's Last Sigh" (1995, Salman Rushdie), chapter A house divided, (1-) 3

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 222
[ I'm walking my dog ]
Zywa Apr 2024
I'm walking my dog

in the sound of the silence --


with my earplugs in.
Novel "Fury" (2001, Salman Rushdie), chapter 7

Song "The sound of silence" (1964, Simon & Garfunkel)

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 303
[ Corpses in the street ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Corpses in the street

look like humans, but fake ones --


more like broken dolls.
Novel "Fury" (2001, Salman Rushdie), chapter 6

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 212
[ Human babies are ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Human babies are

infected from birth, with the --


story parasite.
Novel "Two Years Eight Months & Twenty-Eight Nights" (which is 1001 nights, 2015, Salman Rushdie), chapter 4 "The Strangenessses"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 729
[ It's a merry day ]
Zywa Apr 2024
It's a merry day,

we dance on the earth *****:


feet full of music.
Composition "Velocities (Moto Perpetuo)" for marimba (1990, Joseph Schwantner), performed in the Organpark on March 15th, 2024 by Tomasz Herisz - Tatiana Koleva calls the marimba an earth-*****

Collection "anp" #176
Apr 2024 · 1.2k
[ Within every ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Within every

story new stories, that's how --


the universe works.
Novel "Two Years Eight Months & Twenty-Eight Nights" (which is 1001 nights, 2015, Salman Rushdie), chapter 7 "Within the Chinese Box,"

Collection "Low gear"
Apr 2024 · 331
[ Sneaking silently ]
Zywa Apr 2024
Sneaking silently,

as part of a secret plan --


and it will end well.
Composition "Variations on Japanese Children's Songs" for marimba (1982, Keiko Abe), performed in the Organpark on March 15th, 2024 by Sung-En Chi

Collection "anp" #177
Mar 2024 · 131
[ The many years lived ]
Zywa Mar 2024
The many years lived

make me crooked, I subside --


sink into my roots.
Novel "Spertyd" ("Deadline", 2017, Elsa Joubert), opening sentence

Collection "After the festivities"
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