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Jun 2023 · 129
[ I let her go, but ]
Zywa Jun 2023
I let her go, but


I'll be true to her image --



my image of her.
Novel "Terug tot Ina Damman - De geschiedenis van een jeugdliefde" ("Back to Ina Damman - The history of an adolescent love", 1934, Simon Vestdijk), III-5, conclusion
Jun 2023 · 212
[ Perhaps God exists ]
Zywa Jun 2023
Perhaps God exists,


as a work in progress that --



we can't understand.
Weblog by Nick Cave "The Red Hand Files" #11, December 2018): "Does God exist? Maybe, I don’t know. Right now, God is a work in progress."
Jun 2023 · 149
[ I'm busy thinking ]
Zywa Jun 2023
I'm busy thinking,


and she is getting upset --



because I'm silent.
Novel "Terug tot Ina Damman - De geschiedenis van een jeugdliefde" ("Back to Ina Damman - The history of an adolescent love", 1934, Simon Vestdijk), III-5, pages 251,253
Zywa Jun 2023
Teens in the school yard


like to play with the soft ***** --



of being in love.
Novel "Terug tot Ina Damman - De geschiedenis van een jeugdliefde" ("Back to Ina Damman - The history of an adolescent love", 1934, Simon Vestdijk), III-3, page 219
Jun 2023 · 935
[ My lawyer comes in ]
Zywa Jun 2023
My lawyer comes in

with a very thick folder --


and I lie in it.
Novel "Letselschade" ("Personal injury", 2022, Vonne van der Meer)

Collection "After the festivities"
Jun 2023 · 478
[ I almost started ]
Zywa Jun 2023
I almost started

kissing the lips above me --


but it's a doctor.
Novel "Letselschade" ("Personal injury", 2022, Vonne van der Meer)

Collection "After the festivities"
Jun 2023 · 266
The days when he is sweet
Zywa Jun 2023
He's better than he is
I see that better than how he is
He loves me

But adventures lure him
In his enthusiasm
he magnifies them

in compelling stories
and oh, love, what it is
does he scale down

I also see it
with my friends' husbands
who know it, but

prefer to hang on
to the attention
they sometimes get

on days when he is sweet
and they don't have to worry
about what else he's doing
"Love is just a four-letter word" (1965, Bob Dylan, not recorded), sung by Joan Baez (album "Any Day Now", 1968)

Collection "Great Flow"
Jun 2023 · 360
[ I shall let you in ]
Zywa Jun 2023
I shall let you in,

into my dream if you will --


kiss me in your dream.
"Talkin' World War III blues" (1963, Bob Dylan)

Collection "Great Flow"
Jun 2023 · 528
Memories don't drown
Zywa Jun 2023
Events flow through my head
faucets spontaneously spray
memories over my feet
Frogs jump out of the pool

What seemed so ordinary
is now demonstrating
and keeping me awake
Smashing the window panes

I hide behind the lace curtain
Shadows beat the drum
They live on the street
and declare me guilty

I am no longer safe
from the straight faces
and the doubts of my family
They slink through the house
Film "La Llorona" ("The weeping woman" [looking for her drowned children], 2019, Jayro Bustamante, about the Guatemalan Genocide in the 1980s

Collection "Greeting from before"
Jun 2023 · 777
[ The buried people ]
Zywa Jun 2023
The buried people

are present in the silence --


rustling in the wind.
Collection "Greeting from before"
Jun 2023 · 431
Beds in my dreams
Zywa Jun 2023
Boys look past
my shyness
I don't understand

So beautiful I see my feelings
in my face, my forms
in the mirror

Why doesn't anyone
want to enjoy me?
The beauty of a boy

discovered inside and out
by my skin
my curious body

In other people's houses
I capture the beds
in my dreams

None of them invite me
Can they see in me
how critical I am?
Collection "Life line"
Jun 2023 · 1.1k
[ I am in the field ]
Zywa Jun 2023
I am in the field,

surrounded by butterflies --


on my floral blouse.
Collection "Life line"
May 2023 · 299
Hand in love
Zywa May 2023
Will it be alright, or shall I always
have to make it do, always
holding my man's hand
so that he does not fall?

Will it be alright, or will it
not last?
Is he too just a dupe
of himself?

My first angel
delivered pills, he brought
heaven to the camping site
and soon became a home for me

Celebrating birthdays
with the whole family
Nice and quiet days
My life became mine

The others also flew
like angels high
on my breath, to be free
away, from me, from home

I waited
Come into my arms
Listen to me
Take care of me
Song "I Shall Be Released" (1967, Bob Dylan, album "Bob Dylan's Grea-test Hits Vol. II", 1971), among others sung by The Band (album "Music From Big Pink", 1968) and Joan Baez (album "Any Day Now", 1968)

For Maria Godschalk

Collection "Great Flow"
May 2023 · 889
[ One two, up we go ]
Zywa May 2023
One two, up we go!

Together we do pippop --


perthepop, hooray!
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (1968, Paul McCartney, The Beatles)

For Ineke's 2022 birthday

Collection "The drama"
May 2023 · 974
The deputy
Zywa May 2023
With the proceeds he bought the bank
the water company and computer halls
Modern Monopoly. He invested
in advanced filters and the internet

With a wink he kept his title
'Landlord'. Ah, the good old days
Now we are the owners, we pay
the subscriptions and pay off our debt

Things are going well, fewer members
are active, there is talk on the sidelines
and self-interested owners
collect proxies

The administrator acts
opportunistically and follows
the outside world
There is a call

for another system:
with so little involvement
a transfer of power will do -
blank until business is done
Democratic decision tot delegate executive, legislative, and judicial powers to one person of group of super-rich

Landlord / Corps noble (noble body), Corps social (social body) / Aristocracy, Oligarchy

Association of Homeowners / Corps législatif (legislative body) / Democracy

Delegate / Corps commun (communal body) / Populist totalitarianism (Ochlocracy)

Collection "The drama"
May 2023 · 680
[ Buzzing everywhere ]
Zywa May 2023
Buzzing everywhere,

the oasis full of bees --


All flowers empty.
1. Migration to rich countries, which get too crowded to feed everyone / 2. Kleptocracy, keeping the population as poor as possible

Collection "The drama"
May 2023 · 366
Chain of fire
Zywa May 2023
Underground, my thoughts
collide with him
They tear flames

from his stature, from his voice
They blow fire into his house
put a fire around his wife

A chain of craters
Ash clouds over the world
And me in the Peaceful Centre

of the catastrophes
which must hit his marriage
without harming him

How many aftershocks to go?
How much heat?
How much desire?
Song "Ring of fire" (1963, June Carter and Johnny Cash), sung by Johnny Cash (1963, album "Ring of Fire: the Best of Johnny Cash")

Circle of VEI 8 volcanoes surrounding the Pacific Ocean

Collection "Without reserve"
May 2023 · 302
[ A gale bumps and beats ]
Zywa May 2023
A gale bumps and beats

branches away, gates open --


bears into their caves.
Collection "Without reserve"
May 2023 · 700
Fallen angel
Zywa May 2023
What is home, everyone knows
from experience or lack
or both, as I do

And still
I know what I missed
when I think about it

Not often, at last
I got my home
And still

I am the saviour, the angel
I have practised to be
from childhood

I hesitate at the old Christmas card
with me as a little angel, back then
when I got a cat as a present

Stars on my white dress
gilt-edged wings
and a halo

But unable
to definitely redeem
my family, their desires

Wounded, I crashed
bipolar between heaven and earth
between love and failure
Photo: Christmas 1986; Maria is 4 years old, her brother is 12

For Maria Godschalk

Collection "Bruises"
May 2023 · 470
[ The mouths are open ]
Zywa May 2023
The mouths are open,

wide, as if they are screaming:


the leaf ***** in air.
Stomata (of leaves)

Collection "Bruises"
May 2023 · 1.8k
Angry Angel
Zywa May 2023
You cannot sleep?
It will come
It's the clock genes

Just come over here
and lie down with me
Close to each other
You are so sweet

It tied knots in me
that are not quite undone yet
I was a saviour, an angel

not yet used
to her body, a child
who does know heaven
but not yet earth

It recurred
Anger grew inside me
Powerless aversion

It recurred
And with others
I lost my wings
A worthless angel
Clock genes: 24-hour rhythm / circadian rhythm (circa-dies = approximately a day)

For Maria Godschalk

Collection "Bruises"
May 2023 · 429
[ My room: a waste bin ]
Zywa May 2023
My room: a waste bin,

chair, chamber ***, and myself --


tossing in my bed.
Collection "Bruises"
May 2023 · 479
Bad Dream
Zywa May 2023
Man is a wild animal
in a herd, a group
that organizes
to be tamed

but it's not easy
to get the systems right
There are unexpected effects
or oppressive requirements

No one is responsible
Deposing leaders, killing
dictators makes no difference
The people tolerate the successor

Help is needed
From the outside, but
the borders are deadly
to humanity

So I must appreciate little
things, a glance
the clouds, fresh bread once
and dream what is forbidden
The main forms of totalitarian power:
    • capitalist kleptocracy of shareholders
    • oligarchic kleptocracy of a dictatorship
    • "family" kleptocracy of the mafia

Novel and screenplay "Metropolis" (1924, Thea von Harbou; film 1927, Fritz Lang)

Film "Modern Times" (1936, Charlie Chaplin)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 841
[ In the gusts of wind ]
Zywa May 2023
In the gusts of wind,

the waves foam yellowish green --


and.. a boat dances.
Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 514
Evill Will
Zywa May 2023
Forgive me
I don't want to explain away
the fact that I needed time

to put the consequences
of one or the other
together

The appearances may be against me
but I didn't hold aloof
really, I never wait and see

I don't look away
I just look thoroughly
for a well-considered decision

because so much is happening
and often there is no clear line
in all the details

And I don't want to do anything wrong
That is the seed
of my passivity

My aversion to misdeeds
Evill Will: Passivity (out of aversion to misdeeds)

About misdeeds: poem "Evill Intent" (see May 17th)
May 2023 · 1.1k
[ Eavesdropping always ]
Zywa May 2023
Eavesdropping always

changes something, except when --


it's done secretly.
"Trois couleurs: Rouge" - Fraternité ("Three Colours: Red" - Fraternity, 1993, Krzysztof Kieślowski)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 655
Big Bad Wolf
Zywa May 2023
I dare to get into bed with you
Your big mouth is too small
for the world, your heart too big

for me, here I am
Well, tell, then I'll dream
with you, about you

in a purple cloak
the skin of innocence and power
Very discreetly, very discreetly

you take revenge
on anyone who does not get into action
and just lets everything happen

You issue wise orders
that camouflage your agenda
Much trouble for nothing

for though you loathe them
they are not another species
they are like you

only not angry enough
to be able to choose
what is important

That is the seed
the seed of your anger
Everyone's passivity
Big Bad Wolf: Anger (out of aversion to other people's passivity)

About passivity: poem "Evill Will" (see May 25th)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 545
[ Here too, policemen ]
Zywa May 2023
Here too, policemen

coming to deport me to --


a death of torture.
After a rejected asylum application

Film "Die middag" ("That afternoon", 2023, Nafiss Nia)

Collection "Between where"
May 2023 · 1.8k
Evil Child
Zywa May 2023
Hand over my mouth, I laugh
at the evil child
you are, who wants everything
as it should be

a better world
justice, equality
and brotherhood, now!

No longer an ideal
that makes fellow human beings suffer
in order not to lack anything themselves

So immature, not you
your complaint, your desire
for more

more solidarity
more harmony
more self-criticism

I know, the seed
of your gluttony
which wants all that
is your sweet anger
Evil Child: Gluttony (for justice, equality and brotherhood, solidarity, harmony and self-criticism, out of anger at the lack of them in society)

About anger: poem "Big Bad Wolf" (see May 24th)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 525
[ The riches we have ]
Zywa May 2023
The riches we have

are limited, we want more --


attention, on call.
Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 1.2k
Evil World
Zywa May 2023
The night is safe. Come
Whatever goes wrong
you did what you could do

Come. You want too much
love and appreciation
from others for each other

and fewer regulations
fewer regulators
who interfere

and, like puppets
decide your fate
Mistakes are forbidden

They're in the system
and that's being worked on
Come. Over is the day

in which the seed lies
the seed of your fear
Your gluttonous love
Evil World: Fear (from a gluttonous need for love, comfort and security you fear, thinking you cannot function in the social system)

About gluttony: poem "Evil Child" (see May 23rd)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 252
[ We have coats of arms ]
Zywa May 2023
We have coats of arms

to protect us, our courage --


against doom-thinking.
Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 499
Evil Boss
Zywa May 2023
We live a sober life, enough
is enough for me, and reserves
are necessary according to you

Everything is insured, luckily
no loans, we are working hard
because otherwise one has nothing

The children have their own lives
they won't take care of us
and are already asking for part

of their portion of inheritance, but it's stuck
in stone, in vaults, and in your head
that also wants to cover the coverage

People should grow up
and take care of themselves
reap their own harvest

though we could share more
relying on mutual aid
not just on our own character

in which lies the seed
the seed of greed
Our fear
Evil Boss: Greed (for fear that others will not help you)

About fear: poem "Evil World" (see May 22nd)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 801
[ The gum bubble bursts ]
Zywa May 2023
The gum bubble bursts,

people scream about profit


motives: blue ******!
"Trois couleurs: Rouge" - Fraternité ("Three Colours: Red" - Fraternity, 1993, Krzysztof Kieślowski), Valentine

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 272
Evil Fairy
Zywa May 2023
Always just joy and happiness
would be boring, but what can I
know about something that doesn't occur?

It would also be unfair, indeed
unbearable, if fairy tales
could be real

I don't begrudge my friends anything
as long as we go well together
and they don't flaunt

their children
being in the clover
or other prosperity

I avoid neighbours and colleagues
who like to brag about
additions and gadgets

I can miss those things
but Gladstone Gander's certainty
that there will always be enough

the blessing of good fortune
I would like to have that
And therein lies the seed

the seed of my envy
my greed, so that I can show
that I am blessed
Evil Fairy: Envy (out of the need to have a blessed life yourself)

About greed: poem "Evil Boss" (see May 21st)

Collection "Mastress"
Zywa May 2023
Gold chips on the street

can't be real, such a party --


would be pathetic.
May 2023 · 339
Evil Tongue
Zywa May 2023
There must be misery hidden
behind glitter and gold
wouldn't it?

We talk about it, right away
if there's anything suspicious
A child staying at home

grandma on a visit for a week
a new nanny
or a long business trip

Call it gossip
It is the cement
of our neighbourhood

And we know very well
that it is possible
it is not true

And this is the seed
the seed of our slander
Our envy
Evil Tongue: Slander (gossiping about neighbours and acquaintances, out of envy of their lives)

About envy: poem "Evil Fairy" (see May 20th)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 308
[ The world your parents ]
Zywa May 2023
The world your parents

keep impressing on you is --


fitting less and less.
Diary novel "Een licht bewoond eiland - Faxen aan Ger #5" ("A lightly inhabited island - Faxing to Ger #5", 2022, Nicolien Mizee), April 21st, 2000

Collection "Out of place"
May 2023 · 158
Evil Eye
Zywa May 2023
I'm not vain, I'm noble
Beyond reproach
I know the world, the people

with their little souls
their little minds
and little worries

I understand them, I see
the guilt and the shame
with which they punish themselves

for their lies
to keep the corpses
hidden in their wardrobe

I can guess them though
and I pass them on in a whisper
like a gear, a compelling eye

That's just how it works
Thanks to these seeds
I am exemplary

The seeds of my high-
handed, high-minded ideas
So practical, my slander
Evil Eye: Pride (after slandering people you consider inferior, look down on them with a compelling eye)

About slander: poem "Evil Tongue" (see May 19th)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 169
[ The tall man is dressed ]
Zywa May 2023
The tall man is dressed

in nothing, nothing but ties --


So superior!
Gires Kanda in a suit of ties, Kinshasa 2022 (photo Kris Pannecoucke)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 719
Evill Intent
Zywa May 2023
The people here
are not quite grown up
They live past inconveniences

So I'm gonna settle it
Like a parent for their own good
Comment is all in the game

I don't mind, we have to move on
Who does not act, is manipulated
and my own preferences
don't appear out of the blue
I have experience

I chip and wipe away the chips
I am a doer, a maker
No expensive gestures
no desperate remedies
to reassure desperate patients

I know what I'm doing, there are goals
to achieve and worlds to win
with ambition

the seed of my misdeeds
my taunted pride
to want to achieve something
Evill Intent: Misdeed (out of pride, subordinating fellow human beings "for their own good" to an interest that has your preference)

About pride: poem "Evil Eye" (see May 18th)

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 353
[ Just sully your hands ]
Zywa May 2023
Just sully your hands

and cover them, draw the veil --


of your black money.
Communist equality and true equality

"Trzy kolory: Bialy" - Równość ("Three Colours: White" [Equality], 1993, Krzysztof Kieślowski), Karol

Collection "Mastress"
May 2023 · 301
Songs without words
Zywa May 2023
Where are the poets
who devote themselves to music
to the songs that are too good
for the lyrics to the melody
so that nothing impairs
the sound of the feelings?

Songs without empty wishes
Songs without tall talk
And no commonplaces in rhyme

Only tenderness and joy
to my anger and anxiety
my melancholy and desire
my sadness, the love
and the wonder
at everything

Otherwise a title is enough
even difficult enough
for a song without words
Collection "The light of words"
May 2023 · 251
[ Poems can be vague ]
Zywa May 2023
Poems can be vague,

naming the unnamable --


unsilencing it.
Collection "The light of words"
May 2023 · 342
[ Grandpa is so strict ]
Zywa May 2023
Grandpa is so strict:

storms never thunder, because --


swearing isn't allowed.
Novel "sint sebastiaan" ("saint sebastian", 1939, Simon Vestdijk), III-1, page 148

Collection "Inmost"
May 2023 · 320
[ He is dangerous ]
Zywa May 2023
He is dangerous,

he paces in a system --


of fabrications.
Novel "sint sebastiaan" ("saint sebastian", 1939, Simon Vestdijk), III-4, pages 188-189

Collection "Inmost"
May 2023 · 1.0k
[ It's always like this ]
Zywa May 2023
It's always like this,

whenever I am happy --


I feel so lonely.
"Atlas shrugged"  (1957, Ayn Rand), part 1, chapter II

Collection "Willegos"
Zywa May 2023
That's how the world turns:

by people making something --


tangible that lasts.
"Atlas shrugged"  (1957, Ayn Rand), part 1, chapter IV

Collection "Willegos"
May 2023 · 572
Cross over
Zywa May 2023
It is empty on the Grand Square
The guide tells about the past
His words blow over

Birds above the roofs, white clouds
it takes a long time
until we go for a drink

In the café we cross over
in each other's language
to the streets where we live

and everything is the same
in a different way

We sing along to the songs
of our teenage years and toast
the world that is becoming ours

I stall for time, don't want to let go
of the guide, I'd like take him with me
and show him around my own city

let him see with my eyes
after seeing what he saw
not knowing what he was thinking
Collection "Migration"

Song "Nathalie" (1964, Gilbert Bécaud)
May 2023 · 204
[ Tourists are a plague ]
Zywa May 2023
Tourists are a plague,

going further and further --


they keep crossing lines.
Boundary crossing #4, Tourism

Collection "Migration"
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