Zywa The trees are falling

We have ordered musicians
but can we pay them?
Give them some tea

     Listen, the trees are falling
     Lovely, the sound of axes
     cutting down the orchard

     The times are changing
     Play! I want to celebrate!
     You can leave after that

I don't know, I want to go
Why have we grown so old?
I remember everybody

was happy, without knowing
why, didn't we discuss it
time after time! It is over

We'll die anyway
while life goes on
as if we have never lived

Poem 382
Amsterdam, 2015-03-19

The Cherry Orchard (Anton Chekhov) (1904)
Play
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Old age: watching 
Tribute to: Chechov, Anton 
 

Zywa How else

More computers
more working robots
more non-working people

there is so much reluctance
and creative resistance
against delay repeating

time-consuming tasks
and enough intractability
to care nothing

for the way it simply goes
that's just the way it goes
nowadays how else

could we expect prosperity
what we do not expect
because we simply fear

computers
working robots
non-working people

Poem 955
Amsterdam, 2017-01-15

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Prosperity 
Keyword: Technics 
 

Zywa Prêt-à-porter

Laborious
new socks

Not to pinch
my ankles
I lift up and cut
round after round
the border elastic
Carefully
Not the thread
From shirts, I unpick
the name labels, also that
invisible one that
would chafe
my neck
the loop (out of date)
and the three folded
information labels - factory-tailored
clothing has advantages

but it isn't ready
to be worn

Poem 1020
Amsterdam, 2017-02-15

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Clothes 
 

Zywa Rebel

He's doing the things
that stick in our mouths
He throws away the trash

which isn't his, because
the permits are no good
and he is not afraid

for the police, not afraid
for shambles, hospital
and scars, not afraid

to feel the depth
of a fall and then
sparking from short circuits

his head blowing
to pieces in milliseconds
and that's it

The permits are no good
and he's doing the things
that stick in our mouths

Poem 1062
Amsterdam, 2017-02-22

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Hero(ine) 
 

Zywa Matriarch

My sister has tried it by halves
first pleasuring one, then the other

king and getting nothing in return
no, away with the pope
if there is no other way
I will be the matriarch of the country

He has beaten his son to death unborn
It is his furious blood

that is fighting mine
Damn that seamstress
but praise my husband
even though he wants to get rid of me

He is dear to me and I am innocent
I will be the matriarch of the country

Poem 1353
Amsterdam, 2017-05-14

Anne Boleyn,
1532 (marriage) and 1536 (execution)

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Power: murder / annihilation 
 

My self-knowledge is

that I do distract myself --


from knowing better.


Mijn zelfkennis isMein Selbstkenntnis ist,
dat ik mezelf steeds afleid --dass ich mich ablenke von --
van beter weten.besserem Wissen.

Poem S0668
Amsterdam, 2018-01-25

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Self-knowledge 
 

Poem 1807
Amsterdam, 2018-08-11

Ines in the film 'Toni Erdmann' (Maren Ade) (2016)
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Change: 
Tribute to: Ade, Maren 
 

Zywa Europe 2.1

Charles was the first
King of Spain
a Belgian

from the waterland
of Bruges and Ghent
Mechlin Leuven Brussels

the atria and the ventricles
the heart of Europe
2.1

Charles spoke French
German to his horse
and Italian with women

later also Spanish
to God and the Spaniards
but he preferred to be at home

in the middle of the stream
of the culture, the new
Blessed Empire

Poem 1905
Amsterdam, 2018-11-10

Europe 1: the Romans
Europe 2.0: Otto I and Charlemagne

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Together: state 
Keyword: Politics^ 
 

Zywa Our back

Our back is a wood without paths
great-great-grandfather's sixty oak trees
planted on his wedding day when
the house was ready, the house

in which the plans were made
to demolish it
and the trees

can pay for it

Everything new, no past anymore
that we can touch, but
young planting without shade
over the eighth generation

Our back: no wood, no garden
a hole filled with tall grass
in which sixty twigs hide

Inside the house too, there is light everywhere

Poem 1922
Amsterdam, 2018-11-12

Contemplation of a 90-year-old woman, of the 5th generation since the ancestor who planted the felled trees, who is a great-grandmother herself
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Life: stream (go by) 
 

Zywa Crossing Indiana

I took the girl with me to Lexington
At the bus station we ate peacefully
a snack from the vending machine

and I bought her a ticket
for the 11-hour ride to Chicago
Maybe I saved her
sixteen years old, hitchhiking

on a dark Kentucky road
going to say hello to her grandma
she said, and I still worry about her

Poem 2138
Amsterdam, 2019-03-08

Red Haired Hitchhiker (edval) (2019)
Poem (AllPoetry.com, March 7th, 2019)
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Neighbours: along the way 
Tribute to: Edval ("warreng58") 
 

Zywa Vote for myself

I can do it because I think
that I can do better
then another, I better

not think about that
because the need is high
and the opinions are stuck

Filters take the light away
I have to laugh at them
until we are exposed again
to our common sense
and can start again
to enforce
a better world
on the people
who do not trust me

The others will follow
until everything will crash again
and the laughter silenced

will choose someone again
who says he can do better
what no one achieved yet

Poem 2147
Amsterdam, 2019-03-11

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Idealism 
Keyword: Politics^ 
 

Zywa Giants on the roofs

High in the mountains
the giants sleep on the roofs
no one sees them
we dream them

when we are young
and folded in ourselves
making great plans
for the world we know

we are already on our way
just landed here
for a while, to grow
on our sky canopy bed

until we wake up
as heroes who put right
what has been made amiss
by the little people

Poem 2255
Amsterdam, 2019-05-30

The Giants (Ella & Pitr) (2013)
"Les Colosses"
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Hero(ine) 
Tribute to: Ella 
Tribute to: Pitr 
 

Zywa The dikes

I cut a hole to find a hole
water is flowing out
of the concrete, I cut into it
until I'm spent and then

I cut further, a larger hole
in the concrete, sorry dear neighbours
sorry for your ceiling too
but it's leaking and I can cry from it

that I can't put my finger in it
everything is arranged so well
with pipes and working faucets
which I, unfortunately, have to close now

it's a problem for all of us
I don't give up, I don't want to
be the owner of a leak
the dikes must be closed

Poem 2281
Amsterdam, 2019-06-18

Leakage at Magda Sosnowska's
Europa

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Economy 
Dedicated to: Magda S 
 

Everywhere, railings

on top of the roofs: high seats --


for the city birds.


Overal hekkenÜberall Zäune
op het dak: uitzichtpunten --auf den Dächern: Hochstände --
voor de stadsvogels.für die Stadtvögel.

Poem S0929
Amsterdam, 2019-09-01

Health Care Centre of Our Lady, location East, ward B8
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: City (stone & steel) 
 

Zywa What they didn't say

High-level meeting
The king was bound to it
The reputation of the country

is attacked, and defended
with the greatest philosopher:
are the unbelievers inferior?

Should we convert them
with cannons and forced labour
and be rewarded for that?

Or are we robbing and killing
civilized people to damnation
of ourselves, an indelible debt?

The opinions remain
divided, the king is powerless
He cannot make a decision

The sages split up
Praying, they purify their souls
from what they didn't say

Poem 2403
Amsterdam, 2019-09-09

Valladolid in 1550
Meeting under the leadership of Charles V, about the atrocities against the Aztecs in Mexico
The settlers defend themselves with arguments from Aristotle (384-322), the moralists put his definition of civilization against that
In 1511 Antonio de Montesinos made the same accusations against the Spanish settlers in Hispaniola

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Colonialism 
 

Zywa Our big hearts

Maybe because of my big heart
that is nevertheless afraid
of everything that could go wrong

and often does not offer room
for what I need, does not make space
for what I wish for

Or to bridge the distance
from my high legs and long neck
to you, and not to look down on you

with armed love
to soothe an unmet need
half-heartedly

Maybe I just imagine
what you do and say to me
maybe we want the same

maybe, under the skin, you too
are a giraffe, maybe we can
just be giraffes

Poem 2411
Amsterdam, 2019-09-17

Nonviolent communication
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Peace: nonviolent 
 

Upon me, I feel

the eyes of the audience --


Watching my music?


Ik voel de ogenIch spür die Augen
van de luisteraars op mij --der Zuhörer, können sie --
Zien ze mijn muziek?die Musik sehen?

Poem S0951
Vaison-la-Romaine, 2019-10-18

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Attention: surroundings 
 

Limos off the road,

stripes of gloss paint in the dust --


write how it has been.


Sleeën in de berm,Schlitten aufs Bankett,
strepen glanslak in het stof --die Glanzlackstreifen im Staub --
schrijven hoe het was.schreiben, wie es war.

Poem S1023
, 2020-06-11

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Decay 
 

Building our house, we

start with the most important:


the escape exits.


We bouwen ons huis,Wir bauen ein Haus,
het belangrijkste het eerst:das Wichtigste am Anfang:
de nooduitgangen.die Notausgänge.

Poem H2720
Amsterdam, 2020-06-12

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Reason: 
 

For your Lyname's sake!

Darned, why don't you help us --


for your Lyname's sake!


Genaam nog aan toe!Gername noch mal!
Sta ons toch eens bij, domme --Helfe uns doch, verflixter --
Genaam nog aan toe!Gername noch mal!

Poem H2722
Amsterdam, 2020-06-13

(Ho)ly Name
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Anger / Rage 
 

Zywa The representative

The representative wants my wishes
to fulfill them if possible, but first
he will solve my problems

by adding rules
that pack everything tightly
until it is easy to handle

for clean hands
He cares for me, with an office
full of official love

and occasionally with decrees
from the big chair
until they are spent

and he has to balance
in height, speaking policy
with his head in the clouds

that cover up where it goes wrong
that cover up the emptiness of the sky
and keep the chair high

Poem 3817
Amsterdam, 2021-05-17

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Power: 
Keyword: Politics^ 
 

I'm sitting, busy

viewing these two hands of mine --


thinking what to do.


Ik zit te zitten,Ich sitze, sehe
en ik bekijk mijn handen:einfach meine Hände an:
wat zal ik gaan doen?was werde ich tun?

Poem H3004
Amsterdam, 2021-08-10

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Thinking (meditation) 
 

Efficient work does

exist, once you are elsewhere --


where it is less good.


Efficiënt werkenEs gibt Effizienz,
bestaat, mits je elders bent --sobald man anderswo ist --
waar het slechter is.wo es schlechter ist.

Poem S1259
Amsterdam, 2021-10-11

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Prosperity 
 

There's no poverty

in the whopping shopping street --


it's hiding at home.


Armoe bestaat nietArmut gibt es nicht
in de winterwinkelstraat --im Kaufhaus, sie verbirgt sich --
Ze blijft heel stil thuis.und bleibt zu Hause.

Poem S1294
Amsterdam, 2021-12-15

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Equality: inequality 
 

An automatic

door for everything that moves --


is closed still open.


AutomatischeAutomatische
deuren voor wat er beweegt --Türen: immer geschlossen --
zijn dicht ook open.und zugleich offen.

Poem S1382
Amsterdam, 2022-04-04

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Paradox 
 

Automatic belts

work without having to switch --


Are they analogue?


AutomatischeAutomatische
broekriemen schakelen niet --Hosengürtel schalten nicht --
Zijn ze analoog?Sind sie analog?

Poem H3255
Amsterdam, 2022-04-04

There are also automatic belts that do switch though, in a rack
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Simplicity 
 

An automatic

gun does not fire by itself --


There is time to think.


AutomatischeAutomatische
wapens schieten niet vanzelf --Waffen schießen nicht von selbst --
Er is bedenktijd.Es gibt Bedenkzeit.

Poem H3256
Amsterdam, 2022-04-04

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Reason: 
 

An automated

answer produces a queue --


Length invisible.


Een automatischAutomatische
antwoord creëert een wachtrij --Antworten machen Schlangen --
Lengte onzichtbaar.Länge unsichtbar.

Poem S1383
Amsterdam, 2022-04-04

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Waiting 
 

An automatic

pilot does not make mistakes --


fatal ones at most.


AutomatischeAutomatische
piloot: hij maakt geen fouten --Piloten: keine Fehler --
hooguit fatale.höchstens tödliche.

Poem H3257
Amsterdam, 2022-04-04

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Safety: risk 
 

An automated

payment guards you from a debt --


except to the bank.


AutomatischeAutomatische
incasso's voorkomen schuld --Zahlungen verhindern Schuld --
maar niet bij de bank.außer an der Bank.

Poem S1384
Amsterdam, 2022-04-05

Direct withdrawal / Pre-authorised payment
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Money 
 

An automatic

wristwatch gets little pushes --


from its wearer-slave.


AutomatischeDie Automatik-
horloges krijgen duwtjes --Uhren bekommen Stöße --
van hun polsslaven.von ihren Sklaven.

Poem H3258
Amsterdam, 2022-04-05

Self-winding mechanism (an old novelty for watches, that have become superfluous since the smartphones)
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Knowledge: research 
 

An automated

translation leads you further --


till you are astray.


AutomatischeAutomatische
vertalingen zijn wegen --Übersetzungen: Wege --
waarop je verdwaalt.die Irrwege werden.

Poem S1385
Amsterdam, 2022-04-07

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Language 
 

An automatic

contract extension is ease --


instead of reason.


AutomatischeAutomatische
contractverlenging: gemak --Vertragsverlängerungen:
in plaats van verstand.leicht, nicht vernünftig.

Poem S1386
Amsterdam, 2022-04-07

Conservatism
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Passivity: easiness (sloth) 
 

Automatic face

recognition: wearing masks --


for your privacy.


AutomatischeAutomatische
gezichtsherkenning: maskers --Gesichtserkennung: Masken --
op voor privacyum privat zu sein.

Poem S1387
Amsterdam, 2022-04-07

Facial recognition systems
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Privacy 
 

Zywa Stop thief!

The staff members are the worst
they only do their job half way
spying on the chief
and each other, to blow with
the wind when it turns

They take care
of their career, what is good
for them is called good
for the cause, they hold on
and will spoil everything

Even if it's just hearsay
a good story is indestructible
It steals what you want to have
and you black-wash everyone who contradicts
to appear white yourself

while you are the first to cry
Stop thief!
with a passing side note
which amplifies the rumours
by contradicting them

Poem 4558
Amsterdam, 2022-06-27

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Power: manipulation 
 

The girl loops the rope

around the bollard, he looks --


and does it over.


De vrouw lust het touwDie Frau schlingt das Seil
om de meerpaal, haar man kijkt --um den Poller, ihr Mann schaut --
en doet het over.und macht es noch mal.

Poem S1471
Amsterdam, 2022-07-13

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: People: men 
 

There are too many

boxes and too many things --


used way too little.


Veel te veel dozenZu viele Kartons
zijn er, veel te veel spullen --gibt es, zu viele Sachen --
te weinig gebruikt.zu wenig benutzt.

Poem S1476
Amsterdam, 2022-07-14

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Consume 
 

Zywa CleanUP

Underwear day indoors
screaming for fresh air
bored with my rooms
lying on the couch
after another shower

I needed to clean up
The house would be chock-full
with everything I ever had
Not so much the plants
in the street that I saved

the cat food or the mountain
of medicine, just the usual stuff:
piles of clothes, that one denim jacket
from the photo, my diving suit
grandpa's tools and a bed

I put it on the sidewalk
and after a day I took the remains
away to a pass-on shop
where I left with bags full
I left with bags full

Poem 4601
Amsterdam, 2022-08-01

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Possessions 
 

Compulsion has no

perpetrators, just victims --


and accomplices.


Dwang heeft geen daders.,Der Zwang hat keine
alleen maar slachtoffers en --Täter, er hat nur Opfer --
medeplichtigen.und Helfershelfer.

Poem S1624
Amsterdam, 2023-01-02

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Power: compulsion / violence 
 

We raise our glasses:

To the health of all of us! --


No more alcohol!


We heffen het glas:Wir trinken darauf:
Op ons aller gezondheid! --Auf unsere Gesundheit! --
Geen alcohol meer!Kein Alkohol mehr!

Poem S1653
Amsterdam, 2023-02-04

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Care: body 
Keyword: Health 
 

The new apartment

buildings have collapsed: a quake --


of underground lies.


De nieuwe huizenDie neuen Häuser
zijn ingestort: een beving --sind eingestürzt: ein Beben --
van aardse leugens.irdischer Lügen.

Poem S1741
Amsterdam, 2023-04-19

Earthquakes in Turkey (and Syria) on February 6th, 20th and 25th, 2023
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Ethics: lie 
Keyword: Turkiye% 
Keyword: Greed 
 

A signal failure:

all trains are still running, but --


without passengers.


Grote seinstoring:Ein Signalausfall:
alle treinen rijden nog --alle Züge fahren noch --
Zonder passagiers.Sie sind aber leer.

Poem S1793
Amsterdam, 2023-06-11

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Safety: rules 
Keyword: Technics 
 

Against summer heat

I plant trees around the house --


For after my life.


Tegen de hitteGegen die Hitze
plant ik bomen om het huis --pflanz ich Bäume vor dem Haus --
Voor na mijn leven.Für nach meinem Tod.

Poem H3849
Amsterdam, 2023-06-11

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Care: thinking ahead 
 

Any producer

has to (produce), or may not --


if a law applies.


Een producent moetEin Produzent muss
wel (produceren), of niet --(produzieren), oder nicht --
als er een wet geldt.wenn ein Gesetz gilt.

Poem S1882
Amsterdam, 2023-08-24

Laws safeguard the public interest
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Economics 
Keyword: Capitalism 
 

The tour guide looks down

and mumbles on with his back --


turned to the tourists.


De gids kijkt omlaagDer Stadtführer schaut
en mompelt wat met zijn rug --runter, sein Rücken murmelt --
naar de toeristen.den Touristen zu.

Poem S1941
Amsterdam, 2023-10-04

Damrak, Amsterdam
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Communication: half(-hearted) 
Keyword: Amsterdam% 
 

We don't understand

each other. What do you feel?


What am I telling?


Ik begrijp jou niet,Wir verstehen uns
en jij mij niet. Wat voel je?nicht. Was fühlst du? Verstehst du --
Snap je wat ik zeg?was ich dir sage?

Poem S2117
Amsterdam, 2024-02-07

Communication: from your relationship with a toddler to the relationship with your life partner
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Communication: incomprehension 
 

Zywa Surplus killing

Strongman! Strongman!
We are willing and already dare half
only dare half, only if you say so
will we give money
to forces

The complete package
we send: rolls
of barbed wire, poles
excavators, gravel
bags of cement and

instructions for use
shows our lack
of experience with wolves
who insolently act as if
they belong here

Like sheep we come to see
what's happening and
unintentionally we make it worse
the wolf can't help it
it's his instinct, right?

Poem 5455
Amsterdam, 2024-03-09

Giving the opportunity for excessive killing (overkill)
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: War: death / victims 
Keyword: Ukraina% 
Keyword: Animals: wolf 
 

Zywa Wasteland

An exploded world
inside out
unfaltering

the water swallowed up
and the crust an asphalt sea
a dead sea, wasteland

where no cattle can graze
and everyone starves
is a horror dream

of one and a half hours
in the cinema hall
Outside we rely

on nuclear bombs and smart solutions
for a humane environment
because there is no growth

in placenta earth

Poem 1075
Amsterdam, 2017-02-24

A-sphalt = un-faltering
Asphalt was won in the "Asphaltite Sea" = the Dead Sea

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Earth: mother 
 

Bringing things to growth,

and then having to stop them --


with newly passed laws.


Iets tot groei brengen,Zum Wachstum bringen,
en het dan moeten stoppen --und dann neue Gesetze --
met nieuwe wetten.um es zu stoppen.

Poem H2493
Vlissingen, 2019-06-06

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Together: society 
Keyword: Politics^ 
 

I prefer to cut

all the knots, and the loose ends --


I would throw away.


Het liefste hak ikLieber schneide ich
de knopen door, de eindjes --die Knoten und die Enden --
zou ik weggooien.würd' ich wegwerfen.

Poem S1025
, 2020-06-14

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Power: pride 
 

The robot cleaner

is signaling me a code:


now you, clean my drum!


De robotzuigerDer Saugroboter
knippert een code voor mij:blinkt einen Code für mich:
nu jij, zuig mij leeg!jetzt du, saug mich leer!

Poem H2726
Amsterdam, 2020-06-14

Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Technics 
 

I gave you my help,

I answered all those questions --


that I was asking.


Ik gaf jou mijn hulp,Ich gab dir meine
ik beantwoordde vragen --Hilfe, Antwort auf Fragen --
die ik zelf stelde.die ich mir stellte.

Poem S1125
Amsterdam, 2021-01-17

Unsolicited advice
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Help 
 

Sometimes I want to

cast stones, but do I have to --


throw on myself first?


Soms wil ik dringendManchmal möchte ich
stenen werpen, maar moet dat --Steine werfen, soll das dann --
echt eerst op mezelf?zuerst auf mich selbst?

Poem S1341
Amsterdam, 2022-02-18

John 8:7 (0)
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
Collection: Half The Work 
Keyword: Ethics: vices 
 

Zywa
     Collection:   Half The Work
GroupGermanDutch5-7-5
PencilPumiceRainLoves
CompressedBirdsIflessPhoto