Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
555 · Jun 2024
[ A sorcerer doesn't ]
Zywa Jun 2024
A sorcerer doesn't

need a wand or other stuff --


Words are sufficient.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 5

Collection "Low gear"
555 · Jan 19
[ He admires my shoes ]
Zywa Jan 19
He admires my shoes,

unaware of the beauty --


of my tempting toes.
Novella "De heilige Antonio" ("The Saint of the Impossible" / "Saint Antonio", 1998, Arnon Grunberg), chapter 14

Collection "Unseen"
554 · Feb 2022
Intimacy
Zywa Feb 2022
Only experiences count
now that every day matters:
new activities
beauty to the full

and attention to me
The rest, I clear out
What I have saved for years
I throw away neatly

in wrapping paper
or I fold flowers from it
witch will get dusted
in memory

of my company
our meetings
which cannot wait
We give each other

this day, everything
that can be intimate between
people in the passing
of an ordinary day

I do the fun things
that everyone says
he'd like to do, with you
and you and you and you
For Maria Godschalk #157

Collection "More"
553 · Dec 2023
[ Love does prove itself ]
Zywa Dec 2023
Love does prove itself

in attentively hearing --


of what is not said.
Novel "De gebeurtenis" ("The event", 2022, Peter Terrin), chapter Juliette (3) #1

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 20s"
553 · Jan 2022
[ Between some remains ]
Zywa Jan 2022
Between some remains

and undigested houses:


underground parking.
"Dwarsdoorsnede" ("Cross-section", 2020, Marjolijn van Heemstra)

Collection "Human excess"
553 · Mar 3
[ He sings about me ]
Zywa Mar 3
He sings about me,

about my desperation --


Everyone hears it.
Song "Killing me softly with his song" (1972, Lori Lieberman and Norman Gimbel, music Charles Fox), sung in 1973 by Roberta Flack (album "Killing me softly with his song")

Collection "Finethreads"
553 · Jul 2023
[ It's raining tonight ]
Zywa Jul 2023
It's raining tonight

on our summer memories --


They are washed away.
Poem "Morte di una stagione" ("Death of a season", 1937, Antonia Pozzi) - "Piovve tutta la notte sulle memorie dell'estate"

Collection "After the festivities"
551 · Dec 2018
Chilchliflue
Zywa Dec 2018
It's a tradition, an old superstition
the night is hot
we'll go and do it
as soon as everyone is asleep
we sneak out of the house

leaving our husbands
as to take a ***

It is not far to the rock
with the flat stripe of white
In the light of the moon
we *** indeed
with laughter

while ******* for the picture
because we want to have proof

We slide our **** warm
over the pale stripe in the middle
of the Chilchliflue. Landed
in the grass, we feel
with each other

for the beginning
of a baby in our belly
Glacial erratic boulder in Steinhof (Solothurn)
Fluh = boulder

Collection "The Big Secret"
551 · Jun 2021
[ Moon behind branches ]
Zywa Jun 2021
Moon behind branches –

Don't think about it, but look:


moon behind branches.
“O luar através dos altos ramos” (“The moonlight through the high branches”, 1925, Alberto Caeiro [Fernando Pessoa] )

Collection "SoulSenseSun"
551 · May 2019
[ Life is beautiful ]
Zywa May 2019
Life is beautiful,

despite misunderstandings –


and troubles with ***.
Dagboekroman 'De porseleinkast - Faxen aan Ger' (diary-novel 'The china shop', 2018, Nicolien Mizee) --- Collection 'Out of place'

Collection "On the fly"
551 · Aug 2024
[ My signature then ]
Zywa Aug 2024
My signature then:

who I was, sixteen years old --


with a line through it.
Autobiographical account "De harde kern" - 2 ("The *******" - 2, 1993, Frida Vogels), 1946 in Amsterdam

Collection "Trench Walking"
550 · Jul 2022
[ Oh, my dear darling ]
Zywa Jul 2022
Oh, my dear darling,

no theory is correct --


when I comes to you.
"Hoog en laag springen - Faxen aan Ger #4" ("Like it or not - Faxing Ger #4", 2021, Nicolien Mizee)

Collection "Out of place"
550 · Feb 2022
[ A group deforms you ]
Zywa Feb 2022
A group deforms you:

you must conform, be alike --


or will be kept out.
Collection "The drama"
549 · Oct 2023
[ My wish is that they... ]
Zywa Oct 2023
My wish is that they...

want the same thing as I do:


the best. United.
"Country of My Skull" (1998, Antjie Krog), cooperative whites after the apartheid regime

Collection "Wean Di"
549 · Jan 2022
[ A good intention ]
Zywa Jan 2022
A good intention

just comes down to self-knowledge --


and being content.
"Weg met voornemens" ("Stop New Year's resolutions", 2018, Ellen Deckwitz)

Collection "Willegos"
548 · Apr 2022
[ We like each other ]
Zywa Apr 2022
We like each other,

your big nose, my port-wine stain --


are not to be spurned.
Collection "Without reserve"
548 · Oct 2022
[ Live an eternal ]
Zywa Oct 2022
Live an eternal

present, or learn your lessons --


time and time again.
"Heer Bommel en het nieuwe denken" ("Sir Bumble and the new thinking", 1966, Marten Toonder)

Collection "Bearer Toonder"
548 · Feb 2024
[ We talk searchingly ]
Zywa Feb 2024
We talk searchingly,

confidentially, as if --


we are weaving dreams.
Novel "De verdronkene" (2005, "The Storm" / "The drowned", 2010, Margriet de Moor), § 1-8

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 0s"
548 · May 2024
[ Each sway turns over ]
Zywa May 2024
Each sway turns over

another sway, all night long --


we keep on dancing.
Composition "Gaillarde" ("Galliard", Italian jump dance, 2024, Dirk Veulemans), for the two self-built mobile organs and the Utopa-*****, performed by Dirk Veulemans in the Organpark on May 25th, 2024

Collection "org ANP ark" #199
546 · Feb 2023
[ He is trying so hard ]
Zywa Feb 2023
He is trying so hard

that he doesn't realise he --


makes no impression.
"Het Bureau - Het A.P. Beerta-Instituut" ("The Office - The A.P. Beerta-Institute", 1998, Han Voskuil), page 439

Collection "Not too bad [1974-1989]"
Zywa Mar 2022
Old people stiffen
They eat less and less
That's the beginning

of their end, but I want to go ahead
I crawl and waddle until I can run
and in the meantime I do magic
and grow myself taller

I am impetuous, at least
in the desires that bud
from my soul
regardless of season

There is a hungry growth blazing
in me, I eat to keep on
eating, there is so much
to reach to, I jump

and I eat, I live
1. Toddler & Infant
2. Being born in early spring

Tarot: the Fool & the Magician & Wheel of Fortune

Collection "The drama"
546 · Dec 2021
[ The tuba stays here ]
Zywa Dec 2021
The tuba stays here,

I can't play it anymore --


this very last time.
"Landverhuizers" ("Emigrants", written for a friend who emigrated to Colombia, 2018, Carmien Michels)

Collection "Appearances"
546 · Jan 2023
Concurrence
Zywa Jan 2023
The hour has struck
Immediately we forget the time
and wish each other all the best
and boredom

that blessed can do everything
with the peaceful ticking
of grandma's clock without the hands
of an agenda that calls Action!

New Year, the realization
that time in ourselves never passes
In one body we are years
of experiences that are not closed

but do themselves well
on new discoveries and occasionally
set us thinking
about how it all comes together
For Maria Godschalk

Collection "Being"
545 · Jan 2019
Angel of grief
Zywa Jan 2019
High above the horses' corral, the sun
Cutting in the deserted streets
Shutters closed
No fighters and no smugglers
no silver diggers, no luck

Only angry eyes that have seen her
Men go around with clubs
they comb out all the houses
That angel has to leave

I pull her inside, next to my pounding heart
she kisses me until it is over, the dog is alert
and licks her hand, mama is working
dad drinks all day

We wait for the night
I will go with her
away from here, this is not my home
it is a grave, a hollow stone
on which my name never will be written
Tombstone, Arizona
(where the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” took place)

Collection "Bruises"
545 · Feb 2022
[ It's only a game ]
Zywa Feb 2022
It's only a game,

therefore there are no losers --


only new chances.
"Spelregels" ("Rules of the game", 2008, Hagar Peeters)

Collection "Wean Di"
545 · Mar 2022
[ Spring seizes my eye ]
Zywa Mar 2022
Spring seizes my eye,

I really have to hold on --


pull it into bed.
"lieve lente lacht" ("sweet spring laughs", 2012, Rozalie Hirs)

Collection "Passage Passion"
545 · Jun 2021
[ God is a nuisance ]
Zywa Jun 2021
God is a nuisance:

He is constantly present –


but always sleeping.
“God onder de mensen” (“God among people”, 2021, Toon Tellegen)

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"
544 · Dec 2022
[ The farmer has cows ]
Zywa Dec 2022
The farmer has cows,

some poultry with a watchdog --


and holiday guests.
Collection "NightWatch"
544 · Sep 2022
[ In cities, country- ]
Zywa Sep 2022
In cities, country-

men speak softly, everywhere --


someone will listen.
Dagboek "Een jaar als (g)een ander" (Diary "A year like (no) other", 2003, Kristien Hemmerechts)

Collection "Truder"
542 · May 2023
Falter
Zywa May 2023
Can people still have a discussion with me?
I can confront you
with my falter
That searching, the slow
which I can hardly bear myself?
And what do you think of me?

I'm getting smaller, too small
for everything and everyone
I know, more and more
is falling off my world
Dependent on friends
who need me

So nothing seems to have changed
but it's not like that
not the way it was
not what I was worth
I know too well what it is
to endure the day depressed

It may take a long time
that I'm not there for a while
Lost in unreachable thoughts
until I sound again like
I'm doing better
than I'm telling you
For Maria Godschalk

Collection "Slow circles"
542 · May 2022
[ In a tangle are ]
Zywa May 2022
In a tangle are

the snowflakes dancing about:


winter mosquitoes.
"Wintermuggen" ("Winter mosquitoes", 1896, ***** Gezelle)

Collection "Held True"
541 · Sep 2022
Hawai'i
Zywa Sep 2022
Paradise is paved, everywhere
you can park in front of the door now
Pink walls and plastic flowers:
places where people like to be

Isn't it a shame that only afterwards
you open your eyes for what you had?
Paradise is paved, everywhere
you can park in front of the door now

All trees are saved, come, have a look
in the greenhouses of the museum!
It is not expensive to see them all
and you get bees and butterflies too!

There are greenhouses everywhere, no spots
on the apples, they won't even get brown
But last night the door slammed shut
and my beloved left in a big taxi
Song "Big Yellow Taxi" (1970, album "Ladies of the Canyon", Joni Mitchell)

Collection "The drama"
540 · Oct 2023
[ My poet friends sleep ]
Zywa Oct 2023
My poet friends sleep,

it's quiet, I look at them --


eat a banana.
"Desolation Angels" (1965, Jack Kerouac), chapter 2-1-13: Mexico City, written 1961

Collection "MistI"
540 · Mar 18
[ Waking up, lightly ]
Zywa Mar 18
Waking up, lightly

balancing between repose --


and my brand new day.
Composition "Fragile Balance" (2014, Jürg Frey), for ensemble and piano, performed on four saxophones by the Amstel Quartet in the Organpark on March 8th, 2025

Collection "org anp ARK" #99
540 · Dec 2024
[ The road has lost us ]
Zywa Dec 2024
The road has lost us,

we have left it, over there --


it's looking for us.
Poem "Over de weg" ("The road", 1998, Eva Gerlach)

Collection "Passage Passion"
540 · Jan 2023
[ Look at the hippo ]
Zywa Jan 2023
Look at the hippo,

then you'll cease to be amazed --


at human beings.
"Sgombero" ("Get away", 1933, Luigi Pirandello)

Collection "No wonder"
540 · Oct 2022
[ Sex in the morning ]
Zywa Oct 2022
*** in the morning

is nice, before the duties --


we may for a while.
"Winterochtend" ("Winter morning", 1975, Herman de Coninck) --- Collection "Shortages"
540 · Mar 2024
Comfort zones [2]
Zywa Mar 2024
In the city there are many doors
that are open at night
to being awake
experiencing something together
across the threshold
no longer being an outsider

In the city there are many sidewalks
where people stand
and explore distant areas
with flexible words
questions and mental leaps
to become familiar with them

In the city there are many gardens
where children play, birds
whistle and all year round, flowers
attract bees and people
to come and feast
on the nectar of the day
Collection "WoofWoof"
539 · Jul 2022
[ You're desirable ]
Zywa Jul 2022
You're desirable,

a fridge, ajar and steaming --


The fire leaking out.
"De kennismaking - Faxen aan Ger #1" ("The introduction - Faxing to Ger #1", April 19th, 1997, published 2017, Nicolien Mizee)

Collection "Out of place"
539 · Mar 2024
[ The way he behaves ]
Zywa Mar 2024
The way he behaves,

imitating me, never --


I would act like that!
Novel "De opdracht" ("The Mission", 1995, Wessel te Gussinklo), chapter (2-) 18

Collection "Glimpsed"
537 · May 2021
[ Back 'home' after years ]
Zywa May 2021
Back 'home' after years.

What will I come across there?


Can it still exist?
“Die Heimkehr” (“Homecoming: a novel”, 2006, Bernhard Schlink)

Collection "Em Brace"
537 · Sep 2023
[ It has to be done ]
Zywa Sep 2023
It has to be done!

Let's go: into the mirror --


without a blindfold!
Novel "Meneer Visser's hellevaart" ("Mr. Visser's harrowing of hell", 1934, Simon Vestdijk), published in 1936, chapter (2 and) 4

Collection "Inmost [2]"
Zywa Mar 8
The more you want me,

the more you'll see me, even --


when I am not there.
Novella "De heilige Antonio" ("The Saint of the Impossible" / "Saint Antonio", 1998, Arnon Grunberg), chapter 15

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 80s and 90s"
536 · Sep 2023
[ Flat pillar of salt ]
Zywa Sep 2023
Flat pillar of salt,

my fixed image of mama --


Beloved photo.
A photo is an image fixed in salt compounds
"Ivoren wachters" ("Ivory guardians", 1951, Simon Vestdijk), chapter II and V

Collection "Inmost [2]"
536 · Mar 2023
Cold shivers in the morning
Zywa Mar 2023
At home, in the sun, I watch
the news intently, I study the photos
the parabola of a mortar
like a shooting star
and the grey ruins after the impact

There are cameras everywhere
I shiver from everything
I do and don't want to know
but I wouldn't know anything
if I didn't know

I read of people
who woke up and
ran to a cellar
their children crying
in the pale morning light

The wounded crawl over debris
scramble past the charred cars
An ambulance drives away
Daily corpses, daily news
with survivors

with a dry mouth
speechless, pale in the sun
in which I follow the news
with my sharp eyes
my cool heart
"Every Morning" ("Elke ochtend", 1986, Mary Oliver)
Published in Poetry Magazine (March 1986) and in the collection "Dream Work" (1986)

Collection "Reaching out"
536 · Feb 2023
[ You should not do it ]
Zywa Feb 2023
You should not do it

secretly: but unnoticed --


just tactically.
"Het Bureau - Het A.P. Beerta-Instituut" ("The Office - The A.P. Beerta-Institute", 1998, Han Voskuil), page 655

Collection "Not too bad [1974-1989]"
535 · Oct 2024
[ Tell me, what do they ]
Zywa Oct 2024
Tell me, what do they

know, the nationalists,


of their own country?
Novel "Requiem voor een vriend" ("Requiem for a friend", 2002, Han Voskuil), chapter 1965-1985, June 5th, 1974 - The Hague, concept of an article by Jan Bruggeman ('Breugelman')

Collection "Not too bad"
535 · Sep 2023
[ She wants to die, locks ]
Zywa Sep 2023
She wants to die, locks

herself in, her mother calls --


and then grabs the axe.
Poem "suicide watch" (2022, Antjie Krog)

Collection "Truder"
534 · Sep 2021
[ The leaves are fragile ]
Zywa Sep 2021
The leaves are fragile,

at the slightest they come off --


caution! breathe softly!
In response to "Stoner" (1965, John Williams)

Collection "On living on"
534 · May 2024
[ I am so in love ]
Zywa May 2024
I am so in love

that I must confess to her:


I don't write poems.
Story "Dichtertje" ("Little poet", 1918, Nescio), written in 1917, chapter 2

Collection "Rasping ants"
Next page