Christmas time: looking

for snow in the clouds, crystals --


full of peace on earth.


Kersttijd: sneeuw zoekenWeihnachtszeit: Wolken
in de wolken, kristallen --gibt es, mit Schneekristallen? --
vrede op aarde.Frieden auf Erden?

Poem H0093
Amsterdam, 2011-12-17

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Peace: 
 

Zywa A new mystery

I can't celebrate today

Have You Yourself laid Your hands
on the king and burdened him
with our sins?

Delivered up to soldiers
he is sacrificed to whom else
but Yourself, so he must be alive

even though he lies in a tomb

May he be the first to reside
in a whole new world
still empty like the desert
where the scapegoat is free?

May now already be the Day

of Mercies, a new mystery
a new faith, according to laws
that are secret to me

but still are somehow implied
in our unsuccessful endeavour
in Your Name, Your holy Name

which I am unworthy to pronounce?

Poem 914
Amsterdam, 2016-12-24

High Priest Simeon Barjona (son of Jonah) "Cephas" (Petrus) in Jerusalem on Passover in year 30
Day of Mercies: Yom Kippur

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: commandments 
 

Zywa Capital affairs

It's a serious matter
men on the river discussing
and tasting the revolution

The cavalry comes
to arrest the saint
and imprisons him far away

There is a party in that fort
it's the king's birthday
a girl is dancing

She warms up the men
with her naked belly
and has to do a wish

She does not know what to do
and seeks protection with her mother
who asks the head of the saint

Apart from his body, it is
handed over at night
to his followers who sing

of revolution and stand upright
without the foot of the king
in their backs

Poem 2302
Amsterdam, 2019-06-25

John the Baptist (Perea, Palestine, AD 29)
Mark 6:17-24

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: revolution 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Zywa Rock of Willingness

Only now, at night, can I kneel
on the Rock of Willingness
in white clothes, the wrong clothes

open and exposed under the stars
no incense and no curtains
It's the holy day, where are You?

And where were You then? Shrouded in a calm
during the storm, behind the heavenly armies
that have not come?

Where was the radiant cloud
to wreathe Thy king?
Did Enoch and Elijah watch?

I wail at the wall
like a child asking in vain
for food or alms, forgive me

Your mercy includes all people
who gave their naked lives, but
You do not answer, You don't pay attention to me

And yet: Help me, help us, do us justice
let us be Thy most beautiful jewel again
let Thy light shine from my face

Poem 2351
Amsterdam, 2019-07-07

Year 71: High Priest Jacob, the son of Kleofas, prays on Yom Kippur on the "Rock" ("Kefas" = "Peter"), that is the top of Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, which has a large wall in the west that later came into use as the Wailing Wall
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: prayer 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Zywa Tangible reminders

It takes a week to travel
from Mecca to Jerusalem
but why should we go
with God in our midst?

A messenger brought a chest
covered with gold, and two rams' horns
in a purple cloth, with passionate words
about the forefather and the sacrifice

there on that mountain

We are living in the most sacred place
with two proofs of God
the horns as a sign
of the covenant

and the black stone that was white
in the time of paradise
the tangible reminder
of the disobedience

Poem 2938
Amsterdam, 2020-04-18

Residents of ancient Mecca
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Stories: (un)truth 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

The starless star shines

brightly for the followers --


of superstition.


De sterloze sterDer Sternlosen Stern
schijnt helder voor de volgers --leuchtet hell für die Folger --
van hun bijgeloof.des Aberglaubens.

Poem S1113
Amsterdam, 2020-12-21

Faint conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter on November 12th, 7 BC (three times), and fully on the shortest day of 2020 (not to be confused with the conjunction of Jupiter with the moon on April 17th, 6 BC - the "star of Bethlehem" - Matthew 2:2)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Sign 
 

Temples: holiness.

Roof tiles for convenience --


with walls and a door.


Tempels: heiligheid.Tempel: Heiligkeit.
Voor het gemak dakpannen --Dachziegel zum Komfort, mit --
muren en een deur.Wänden, einer Tür.

Poem H4187
Amsterdam, 2023-09-30

Naiku, the shrine near Ujitachi, is demolished and rebuilt every twenty years
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: holiness 
Keyword: Japan% 
 

Zywa Theologic

If you call the beginning of the universe
Creator, Father of the world, even then
it remains far away, you would need
if possible, a connection

a Holy Spirit, no wonder
it was invented, fortunately
there was already the theologic
of the resurrection from the dead

not yet granted to us humans
but which has been promised
to the believers, who hope
that it is possible, just

because it must have happened that way
that He already is with our Father
the Creator, to whom He in all
his divinity naturally says Papa

Poem 5452
Amsterdam, 2024-03-07

Abba is the familiar address of your father: dad. Jesus was divine, and therefore addressed God as 'Dad'; After all, he was Dad's son, that is 'bar-abba', translated into Greek that is: Barabbas. Jesus the Anointed (Christ) was therefore also given the title Barabbas (Dad's son).
Mark wrote the oldest Gospel and used that title in 15:7 without Jesus' name, so as not to provoke the Romans. To the believers it was clear anyway; the title could only have meant Jesus. In some manuscripts of the later written Gospel of Matthew does verse 27:17 not say: "Jesus or Barabbas", but: "Jesus Barabbas", because that was no longer dangerous under Roman rule.

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: God 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Zywa Alf Bet Gaml

It started with ox house donkey
In the barn of the large house
The room was full of family

It was warm, with mum
and the aunts who know all
about childbirth, the men also

stayed up and drank to the new
king, his little bed with lambskin
in a manger was next to me

After Passover in the capital
we had to leave, the news
of our son was buzzing around

people came to warn:
Ox house camel, the alphabet, door
to open and to close

hand that reaps the fruits, eye that sees
and mouth that speaks the truth
My heart that knows the concealed

breath of the breathing, spirit
over the waters, the words
it once started with

Poem 38
Train Amsterdam-Rotterdam, 2005-10-29

Maria (in Bethlehem, 5 BC)
Letters of the Phoenician alphabet

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Language 
 

Zywa The doomed heir to the throne

Thank God no one knows his name
it's all bad enough

The made-up stories, silly
fantasies that cheat

with time, the spotlight
of planets on Bethlehem

the king's village, the comet
and the arrival of three scholars

the people having something
to talk about again, and the tyrant

who has all the boys killed
How could he have lived

with only girls his age
as the sole survivor

and everyone's hope
of revenge and freedom

without a name, just with the title
of a predecessor, the doom
of old dreams?

Poem 609
Amsterdam, 2016-03-29

Jesus = "JHWH is salvation"
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Stories: (un)truth 
Keyword: Religion: belief 
 

Zywa The Liberator

The winter is over, the men want action
like rams without ewes and without a shepherd
By the fishing lake, I promise to be their king

It takes a fortune, rows of carts
bring bread and fish every day
the campaign begins, we march
through the outer regions

On the Mount of Anointment near the capital
we camp under the olive trees
The saint pours a golden crown of oil
over my head, it is my best birthday

I address the men: It is near!
And my enemies, who do not want me
bring them here and slay them before me!

Poem 2352
Amsterdam, 2019-07-07

Mark 3-14 and Luke 19:27-28
Jesus = "JHWH is rescue"

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Violence:  
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

With flags of freedom,

you will not occupy peace --


but you do resist.


Met vrijheidsvlaggenMit Freiheitsflaggen
verover je geen vrede --wird kein Frieden erobert --
maar pleeg je verzet.es ist Widerstand.

Poem H0970
Amsterdam, 2014-05-30

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Freedom: 
 

Zywa Holy holy holy

It's almost impossible to get through
He hardly barely see
doesn't even know he's walking

Under the heavy royal clothes
his back lies open, even worse
than his face with the wound

where an ear has been struck off
A living dead, for ever
holy for his Striving

Men push forward, they attack
the platoon with a lot of noise. No chance
Only a few soldiers are killed

At the Skull Pit, the women watch
the king's lashing
his broken nose against the wood

the deep gashes in his back
in plain sight: a man
you can't call him anymore

The soldiers curse him and
the other two for the slaughter
They cast dice for his gold-

embroidered robe and his shirt
even though it is stiff clotted red
His cloak they tear into pieces

for the winners of fate
Quite soon, he suffocates
His father comes to get him

Poem 1231
Amsterdam, 2017-03-19

Jesus (Jerusalem AD 30), Ecce homo (behold the man)
Isaiah 6:3, Luke 23:27, Mark 14:47, 15:19,27,40,42, Psalm 22:19

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Power: demonstration 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Zywa The night is over

Just in time, order has been restored
but it has cost me many soldiers
What a night, the men are exhausted
They hope and wish it's over
but the day breaks, now

the execution, the exhibition
of the king and his commanders
What a sight he is
in his expensive clothes
with a diagonal bandage

around his head as a royal crown
stumbling through the narrow streets
Today the cheers are mine, with the wailing
of the women and the elderly
the horror on everyone's face:

What have they done? Is it really him?

Poem 2209
Amsterdam, 2019-04-17

Pontius Pilatus (Jerusalem AD 30)
Luke 23:27, Mark 14:47,66,70, 15:20, John 18:10

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Power: wielding 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Zywa Lions

Fighting is moaning and pulling
swords from the corpses, wet
sandals, red feet washed
in blood, and that it takes hours

to clean the square and the palace
at night and still
be chased out of the city

Fighting is turning odds
not giving up, but coming up
with a ruse, a wooden horse
a Münchhausen or tunnel

entering the closed city
of the king with hundreds
through the shaft to the water castle

Fighting is attacking again
and again, shouting, hewing
and clawing as lions
over growing mountains

of the dead, because it is near
even though we withdraw
it is near as long as we live

Poem 2298
Amsterdam, 2019-06-24

Judas (Jerusalem in year 30)
2 Samuel 5:7-8, Luke 13:1,4, Mark 1:15, 14:41-42, Psalm 58:11, 68:23-24

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: War: fight/resistance/guerrilla 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

The afterfeathers

are blown up in the wind, cold --


shivers down my spine.


De vogelveertjesDie Vogelfedern
waaien op in de wind, koud --wehen auf in dem Wind, kalt --
krijg ik het ervan.wird es mir davon.

Poem H0167
Amsterdam, 2012-01-14

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Death:  
 

Zywa Judgement

What's in the stars
up there in the night sky above
the city wall and the screams

of the warriors in the square?
Here it is quiet, we fall asleep
but my love hears the dagger men

coming and he calls us awake: Near!
the surrender of the city is near!
The Lion embraces him dearly

before the horsemen surround him
mutilate him and take him away
The warriors flee, fight

themselves to death in the neck
at the well. It was near, it's over
I no longer have a home

only hiding places in the night

My love, what will they do to you
where are you, where is the judgment
that will free you?

Poem 2299
Amsterdam, 2019-06-24

Maria Magdalena (Jerusalem in year 30)
Luke 22:38, Mark 3:19, 14:32,41-47, Matthew 27:8

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: War: fight/resistance/guerrilla 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

People gathering

in the middle of the square:


circles of silence.


Midden op het pleinMenschen sammeln sich
verzamelen mensen zich --in der Mitte des Platzes:
in kringen stilte.Kreisen der Stille.

Poem H0357
Amsterdam, 2012-09-21

Meditation for peace on the International Day of Peace (Museum Square, Amsterdam)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Peace: 
 

Zywa Careful for the thorns

Quickly, he runs down the stairs
to the budding rose bush
at the gate of the barracks

He cuts a bed of shoots
around his sandals and braids
– careful for the thorns –
a wreath of twigs

for the captive king
He will feel this crown
We'll hit it in his skull

Then we'll finish him
Maybe that will teach them
and we'll finally get rid of them

Poem 2210
Amsterdam, 2019-04-17

Mark 15:16-17 (Crown of thorns)
A Roman soldier in Jerusalem (in the year 30)

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Power: compulsion / violence 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

A flowering shrub

at the monastery gate:


butterflies greet me.


Een bloeiende struikEin blühender Strauch
slingert om de kloosterpoort --windet sich am Klostertor --
vlinders groeten mij.Falter grüßen mich.

Poem H0373
Amsterdam, 2012-10-25

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Animals: butterfly / moth 
Keyword: Spring^ 
 

The fields lie fallow,

now the hands are pollarding --


all the wild branches.


De akker ligt braak,Der Acker liegt brach,
rondom knotten de knechten --und jetzt köpfen die Knechte --
de wilde takken.die wilde Zweige.

Poem H0143
Julianadorp, 2011-12-31

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Violence:  
 

Acts of resistance

have to be secret, only --


the victor can tell.


Verzet is geheim,Widerstandstaten
alleen de overwinnaar --sind geheim, nur der Sieger --
kan het verklappen.kann sie verraten.

Poem H2947
Amsterdam, 2021-05-04

Remembrance of the Dead in the Netherlands, on May 4th
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: War: fight/resistance/guerrilla 
 

Zywa Foxes

No glowing storm from the desert
no seething wrath from heaven
no dawn in the east

only the mighty army
that kills us as rebels
and throws us with the bones

of criminals and losers in the pit
Has anyone prayed and begged
to spare a few righteous people?

Is the city spared for those few?
We who have escaped take shelter
in our right, where we weep
and honour the dead

whose trust has been betrayed. Why?
I cannot sleep, I breathe questions
but don't hear any answers

I listen, listen to me as well
be merciful and answer me
look for me as I am looking for You

do not hide, do not reject me
help me, do not turn me down
do not leave me, abide with me

Poem 2300
Amsterdam, 2019-06-24

Simon 'Peter' (Jerusalem AD 30)
Luke 9:58, Lamentations 5:17-18, Jeremiah 4:11-13,26, Genesis 18:32, Job 34:5, Psalm 22:2, 27:7-9

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: promise 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Zywa He loved honey

He was not old, but old enough
to know that soon the pleasure
of girls coming into bloom
would slip away from him

As long as possible, as long as it lasted
he was still the man who, on the back
of his camel brought a girl
to his tent after a battle

She was ripe, on the saddle
she lost her first blood
and in the orchard he drank
honey with the Coptic girl

His wives smelled it
They belittled him
in their most seductive clothes
but he said it was allowed

He even wanted an ugly girl
Therefore, for some he became
the man who loved virgins
here and in the hereafter

Poem 4491
Amsterdam, 2022-05-25

Muhammad ibn Abdullah (570-632) in 628
Rayhana bint Zayd (-731), Jewish prisoner of war (slave, manumitted later)
Safiyya bint Huyayy (614-672), widow, Jewish prisoner of war
Mariyah bint Samoon "al-Qibtiyya" (-637), "the Copt"
Maymunah bint al-Harith (594-671), "very pious" = not pretty

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Desire: lust 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

My darling has gone,

the silence tells me something --


I don't want to know.


Mijn liefste is weg,Mein Liebling ist weg,
de stilte vertelt mij wat --die Stille erzählt mir was --
ik niet weten wil.ich nicht wissen will.

Poem H0063
Amsterdam, 2011-12-02

After poem 0023. Let me forget (0014. Laat me vergeten, 4 oktober 1992)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Love: heartbreak 
 

Zywa Where are the birds?

It is so quiet outside, never again
will he stand in the loggia, never again
will he look at me, never again

never again will he touch me

I could not sleep, I returned
at the first light to wash and embalm him
his spirit was gone

he was no longer where he lay
and I knelt, embraced his body
and wept the cold cloths wet

His arms were strong as pillars
with bare hands
he could tear a lion to pieces

all the women loved him, they had no rest
walked down the streets and squares
always passing his house

They tossed and dreamed
of his black hair
they grabbed him and did not let go

they wanted to lie in his shadow, put his head
between their breasts, eat honey from his hand
and introduce him to their mother

but he chose me, all night
we made love in the open air
in the sweet scents of pomegranates

The winter and the rains were over
shrubs and trees were blossoming
and birds sang all over the country

Poem 2297
Amsterdam, 2019-06-23

Maria Magdalena (Jerusalem in year 30)
Mark 16:1,6, Judges 14:5 and 16:29, Song of songs (Song of Solomon)

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Love: heartbreak 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Dying means nothing

and a life means everything --


we wish to construe.


Sterven betekentSterben bedeutet
niets en een leven alles --nichts und ein Leben alles --
wat we bedenken.was wir uns denken.

Poem S0096
Train Amsterdam-Nijmegen, 2013-08-16

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Death:  
 

Zywa Warrants and soldiers

Often it was their happy piety
sometimes their excessive caution
or the cheeky look in their eyes
I knew where to find them

as if I could smell them
the confessers, simmering
at the cauldron in their small homes
I filled the dungeons with them

They don't want to accept the facts
and prefer to fantasize
about a divine intervention
They are superstitious and rebellious

I know the laws better than they do
and I acted as a free man
without burden or consultation
With warrants and soldiers

Until I heard clearly: Stop.
It's me. Don't go any further.
Listen. And do as I say.

Please send someone else

I replied
I couldn't see anymore
what I should, what should I
do, in God's name?

Poem 2294
Amsterdam, 2019-06-23

Saul / Paul (conversion in year 38)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: commandments 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

I can feel the words

in the widening circles --


of my silent heart.


Ik voel de woordenIch fühl die Worte
in steeds grotere kringen --in ausdehnenden Kreisen --
om mijn stille hart.um mein stilles Herz.

Poem H0629
Amsterdam, 2013-10-14

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Silence 
 

Yes, I thought so then,

and to now I still think so --


Is that what I learned?


Ja, dat vond ik toen,Ja, das dachte ich
en dat vind ik nu nog steeds --damals, und jetzt immer noch --
Heb ik dat geleerd?Hab ich das gelernt?

Poem H1564
Amsterdam, 2016-10-15

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Knowledge: thoughts 
 

Zywa Foolishness

It's a command from above
otherwise I wouldn't take the trouble
because life is short
and I want to enjoy it

without fear, despair and wishes
so I must, I may and I can
believe in a happy end

And: there are a few witnesses
who know what they saw
an factual truth
which we share with each other
although it is officially forbidden

because it makes our concerns
unimportant and our good deeds
insufficient, I don't know exactly how

It is incomprehensible. But it applies
to everyone, that's the good news
Whatever did happen, it brings peace
to hearts that are open to it

Poem 2295
Amsterdam, 2019-06-23

Paul in year 38
1 Corinthians 15:5,32 and Romans 3:21

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: belief 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

For the listeners

miracles become real facts:


they are witnesses!


Voor de luisteraarsFür die Zuhörer
worden wonderen feiten:werden Wunder zu Fakten:
ze zijn getuigen!sie sind ja Zeugen!

Poem S0410
Vaison-la-Romaine, 2016-10-10

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Stories: (un)truth 
Keyword: Miracles 
 

Zywa Queen to be

At times my heavy head roars on
angrily and the days remain dark

at times they are clear as in my dreams
is the room at the top taken by me

and are wishing-clouds serving me
for solid ground under my feet

Poem 31
Amsterdam, 2005-08-06

?ïsha bint Ab? Bakr (in year 627)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Dreaming 
 

Cows, gazing and square:

no man would make them like that --


cowpower beauty!


Hoekige koeien:Eckige Kühe:
geen mens zou ze zo maken --kein Mensch würde's so machen --
koeiemachtig mooi!Scheiße, kuhig schön!

Poem H0959
Amsterdam, 2014-05-29

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Beauty: body 
Keyword: Animals: cow / bull / bison / ox 
 

If you want something,

you have to get power first:


to change the rules first.


Wie iets wil, moet eerstWer etwas will, muss
macht krijgen: eerst de regels --zuerst Macht gewinnen: erst --
gaan veranderen.die Regeln ändern.

Poem S1577
Amsterdam, 2022-11-27

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Power: wielding 
Keyword: Politics^ 
 

On the horizon

three brightly radiant kings:


triangular suns.


Aan de horizonAm Osthorizont
drie stralende koningen:drei strahlende Könige:
de driehoekszonnen.die Dreiecksonnen.

Poem H2928
Amsterdam, 2021-04-01

Parhelion (sun dogs)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Sun: white light 
 

The grain in the barn

is very safe in the claws --


of Cool Captain Cat.


Het graan in de schuurDie Weizenernte
is veilig in de klauwen --ist sicher in den Krallen --
van Kapitein Kat.von Captain Katze.

Poem H2718
Amsterdam, 2020-06-11

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Culture: skill 
Keyword: Animals: cat 
 

The golden twilight:

a beautiful last evening --


but not today, please.


Gouden schemering:Die Golddämmerung:
een mooie laatste avond --ein schöner letzter Abend --
maar liefst niet vandaag.wenn nur nicht heute.

Poem H0697
Amsterdam, 2014-01-26

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Goodbye: postponement 
Keyword: Evening 
 

Zywa Homo desens

A rebel or a promise?
Our eldest son failed
we do have to keep silent about him

Another hard lesson
the bosses of the soldiers
are our bosses

We will have to concede
no longer believe
that it will ever be all right

that there will ever be a House
indestructible, with in the corner
a rejected stone

We will not build that house
but perhaps we will become rich
enough to buy the weapons

with which we can conquer the land
as ruthless as the tribes
led by Joshua

Poem 1134
Amsterdam, 2017-03-05

Desens = faling, missing
Jesus Christ (Psalm 118:22, Marcus 12:10) as Jewish pretender to the throne
Jehoshua / Joshua / Jesus = JHWH is salvation)

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: promise 
Keyword: Palestina% 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Theists still exist,

alongside the others, the --


down-to-earth people.


Theïsten bestaanTheisten gibt es
er nog steeds, naast anderen:immer noch, und andere:
nuchtere mensen.sachliche Menschen.

Poem S1816
Amsterdam, 2023-07-05

The inadequacy of dividing people into separate categories, such as "atheists"
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Reason: ignore 
 

Zywa The hand

Self-assured, I hunted
sick persons:

quarantine in Jerusalem
to stop the epidemic

that credulity
in the empty promise

of a place in heaven
and a heaven on earth

But their stubbornness gnawed
futility in my zeal

obscured the light in my head
so that I fell. The sun was spinning

in its halo, clenched
in the hand that pointed to me

to risk my life
with my nicest words

Poem 1758
Amsterdam, 2018-05-15

Know-it-alls like Saul from year 30
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: commandments 
 

Zywa After the fall

Like a holy wind:
blowing thoughts
to seekers and believers
to hearts that have been touched

after the fall
of their old convictions
and that will not waver under the spit of fear
of bystanders who chase them away

After the fall:
knowing no longer what
the truth is
of all my book-learning

After the fall:
blindly fleeing forward
and lighting even more
holy fervour

to germinate anew

what, scorched
by my hot breath
has been blown into the world
by a holy wind

Poem 1677
Amsterdam, 2018-02-14

Saul - Paul (AD 38)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: holiness 
 

Zywa For all people

How I misjudged
the truth I thought

thought I knew after years
of study and sharpening

on everyday practice
In retrospect it seems so logical

that the commandments do not only
apply to the chosen ones. The Force is

greater than everything, is there for all people
and all people are there for the Force

Since the corpse has been stolen, that vain
desecration that sought to prevent the consecration

there are witnesses that his soul, his spirit
is alive and still among us

Really, that's a good tiding
for all people: we are mortal

but we live eternally
in the Force that is within us

Poem 1772
Amsterdam, 2018-05-29

Creed, confession of faith (Paul)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: belief 
 

Zywa Whatever happens

The fantasists have given up
on ever shedding blood
for a state of their own, a king of their own

You can live well everywhere
if there is peace
and the commandments are genuine

Then your body may die
but your soul is alive
in the Force

which supports you
in failures and disasters
That is the faith

the new faith for unbelievers
which undeceives everyone
openly, without secrets

Love, love and respect
whom you do not love, then
the Force is with you

Poem 1766
Amsterdam, 2018-05-26

Paul of Tarsus
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: belief 
Keyword: Love: unity / universal 
 

Zywa The sun in the north

I passed on the stories
of my life at the table
That's how Muhammad learned to talk

and to long for the Young Age
of peace and justice -
a future we dream

more beautiful than reality
but still far away. Certain
are only the greed

and the hard work
until you get ill
and prepare

to leave
for Jazira in the north
where paradise awaits

Poem 2220
Amsterdam, 2019-04-25

Aminah bint Wahab (AD 577)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Future: wish 
Keyword: Islam^ 
Keyword: Paradise 
 

Zywa We have failed and there is no punishment

I lay awake over it
We have failed
and there is no punishment

Devils robbed the treasure
of the gods as gods
They climbed through heaven

through the square of the gods
between the high walls
(the door remained closed)

Why? Why
is it not bad? Is it different
from what we think? What is wrong

with our thoughts? What should we do?
Make a roof? Desecrate the sanctuary
with armed men in the free zone?

Or leave it as it is?
Remove what is left?
And hope for a new era?

Poem 1859
Amsterdam, 2018-10-02

Abu Bakr bin Abi Quhafah (AD 608)
Kaaba

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: ignorance 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

Zywa Sand pirates

Will there be sand pirates
as long as there are people
living in sand?

The desert is in bloom after a day
of rain, at night the water dribbles

between the shoots of bushes
and young trees - a wise lesson

in politics, to distribute what is there
whoever the people are

and wherever they live, for
the rain and the earth are free:

a field and a garden for everyone
believing or not

in freedom and equality
believing or not

that God exists
and does not get tired
of giving mankind new chances

Poem 2221
Amsterdam, 2019-04-25

Meditation in a cave of Mount Hira near Mecca, AD 610
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Equality 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

I am dangerous,

I know: you want so badly --


to believe my words!


Ik ben gevaarlijk,Ich bin gefährlich,
ik weet het: jullie willen --ich weiß: meinen Worten wollt --
mij graag geloven!ihr gerne glauben!

Poem S1578
Amsterdam, 2022-11-27

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Promise 
 

Zywa It was a revelation

Hoping for a good life we bear
the daily worries and the hardship

Within sight of the eternity
of everyone's respect and every
delight imaginable, we persevere

And as it is not for sale
the trader appropriated it
It was a revelation

to him that this was possible!
Just in this sacred place

of the despised eldest son
who at one of his father's visits
rebuilt the cube with him

to submit
to the sacred promise
of many chosen ones

Poem 4912
Amsterdam, 2023-01-03

Trader: Muhammad in the year 610
Eldest son: of Abraham, namely Ishmael
Cube: (dice): al-Ka'bah
Submission: al-islam
Many chosen ones: Genesis 17:20

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Revelation 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Zywa Seen in the night

Some children are serious
They don't cling to
a golden hand or an angel
with large swan wings

They walk in circles around the void
in which the possibilities lie
They don't want to know anything
about the statues from the past

in which people think their lives
are recorded
Some children
prefer to go their own way

They like to be alone and in their hearts
they hold the reins
of the future, seen
in the night of the star

and my husband is such a child

Poem 2152
Amsterdam, 2019-03-13

Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (in the year 615)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: hold 
Keyword: Islam^ 
Keyword: Void / Emptiness 
 

Zywa Who among us?

Not even tents, some cloths, wet
cardboard and pieces of plastic tied
between mud bushes, children
limp with their mothers, everywhere

young men stomping around
looking in every nook and corner
of their heads how to tear
down the fence, leave

their hopeless misery
in this no man's land
to put love again
in the eyes begging for help

Who cares about them, who
among us breaks the indecision, who
brings water, a bed, a loaf of bread, who
does do something, who goes to them, who

dares to look them in the eye
from person to person?

Poem 2153
Amsterdam, 2019-03-13

Closed borders
Zaynab bint Khuzayma "al-Masakin" (in year 620)

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Migration 
Keyword: Islam^ 
Keyword: Poverty: visible 
 

Zywa Doubt and Belief [1]

Princes and traders need a consult
and the augurs explain to them
the flight of the cranes
the goddesses of fate

but the strict man
and his uncle turn away
They believe
his inner voice

although they doubt
who is speaking and they ask
themselves if it is possible
that they hear what is unusual

Their common sense thinks too
It knows a practical approach
and the necessary caution
because pride goes before a fall

unless you have enough good luck
and as precaution also clear out
of the way, what is in the way
so that you can go your own way

Poem 4822
Amsterdam, 2022-11-19

Surah 53. "An-Najm" ("The Star"), the satanic verses
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Power: pride 
 

A Master knows much,

still learning, attentively --


he keeps on doubting.


Een Meester weet veel,Ein Meister weiß viel,
hij leert steeds bij, aandachtig --er lernt immer, aufmerksam --
blijft hij twijfelen.zweifelt er weiter.

Poem H3578
Amsterdam, 2022-11-27

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Reason: critical 
 

Zywa Doubt and Confidence

In case of doubt you must
dare
and lose your balance momentarily
have confidence in yourself
that you will be all right

Dare to do
what you doubt
whether you will do it
or dare to doubt
against everything

and not to do
what is expected of you
what you thought to expect
from yourself, that you would dare
to do anyway, doubtingly

In case of doubt you must
dare
and not lose your balance
have confidence in yourself
that you can go a way of your own

Poem 4820
Amsterdam, 2022-11-19

Why it's okay if you don't dare (Stine Jensen) (2022)
Column "Waarom het oké is als je niet durft" (in NRC, November 18th, 2022)
"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily, not to dare is to lose oneself", from: "Begrebet Angest" ("The Concept of Anxiety", 1844, Søren Kierkegaard)

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Self-confidence 
Tribute to: Jensen, Stine 
Tribute to: Kierkegaard, Soren 
 

About things I like

to believe, I'm very strict:


no gifts from myself.


Voor wat ik graag wil,Ich bin streng in dem,
geloven ben ik erg streng:no gifts from myself.:
geen eigen cadeaus.keine Geschenke.

Poem H3579
Amsterdam, 2022-11-27

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Reason: critical 
 

What do and don't I

want to do today: always --


it is judgement day.


Wat wil ik vandaagWas möchte ich tun
doen en laten: steeds opnieuw --und lassen: immer wieder --
een dag des oordeels.ein Tag des Gerichts.

Poem H3580
Amsterdam, 2022-11-27

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Ethics: practice 
 

Zywa Doubt and Belief [2]

Usually angels are vague
weak shadows in the head
of the people who imagine them

but prophets have wishes
that force archangels
to do and say
what they need urgently

It comes from God
including the evil
(that people do to each other)

and the devils from tradition
whom the chosen want
to expel from everyone
who is different from them

God is Allwise
He lets men
judge for themselves

about faith and knowing
and the elaboration of rules
for everything about which
there could otherwise be doubts

Poem 4825
Amsterdam, 2022-11-20

The Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie) (1988)
Gibreel
Amos 3:6
Isaiah 45:6-7

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Angel / Devil 
Keyword: Bible^ 
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

Poem 2231
Amsterdam, 2019-04-27

Sawda bint Zam'a (The H?jrah to Mad?nah in 622)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Heaven / Sky / Hell 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

Zywa Drupes

When they are at your door
you already know, it already is
too big to comprehend

Heaven does not help me
I don't understand the higher purpose
of the war, I can only hope

for an outcome that gives it meaning
We are promised soft flesh of fruit
but we are given stones to eat

The odds turn, coalitions change
and we stay behind, without help
and love we just plod on

until a disease releases us
from the hard life
we never dreamed of

Poem 2230
Amsterdam, 2019-04-27

Zaynab bint Khuzayma (in year 624)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Fate 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

Zywa Golden chromosomes

Magical powers bubbling up
from retorts of cellar alchemists
or vibrant in the blue blood

of sons of sons of grand princes:
old whispered secrets
and the dream of mastery

but only disappointments
have been found, poisoning
and the immortal superstition

in golden chromosomes
which want to live exclusively
once awakened

from their generation-
long slumber, germinated
in the age of germination

Gold mined in the golden age
Justice to be won in a new age
And grace in the age of grace

Poem 2227
Amsterdam, 2019-04-26

Birth of the heirs (625-627) al-Hassan ibn Ali (2nd imam) and Husayn ibn Ali (3rd imam)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Elite 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

Zywa Washed white

Heaven has captured me
in beauty, mama said:
you know, people
always talk

bad about a beautiful woman
with a loving man, you are powerless
No one hears what you say
unless you cry and plead guilty
Then they believe you immediately

Heaven has captured me
in holiness, no man is allowed
to come near to me, I am an example
I have become a story

and I must wait inside
till I'm old enough, washed
white as someday the stone
will be white again, on the banks
where it all has begun

Poem 1857
Amsterdam, 2018-10-02

Aisha bint Abi Bakr (in year 627)
Story (Hadith): Aisha stayed behind on the way, and was brought home by Safwan

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Beauty: body 
Keyword: Islam^ 
Keyword: Slander 
 

Zywa Tiger gazelle

The free field, the blowing
of my hair, the waving
and flowing of the grass, only

obeying myself
No water surface, nothing
does shine but your eyes

to make me feel beautiful –
I despise seducing
in see-through clothes

I spit on being beautiful
to be counted
I disgust being beautiful

and therefore not be counted
I too walk the world!
I too do a lot of work there!

I too oversee what happens
I too know the people
and I talk wisely with you

Poem 1401
Amsterdam, 2017-06-09

Aisha bint Abi Bakr (in year 627)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: People: women 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

Zywa Praised anonymously

Some people are too great
for a common name, they have
earned a title, the highest

praise that a name can express
however temporary their lives are
and may later be forgotten

no longer considered important
by poets who can enchant
a thousand nights with their tongues

and with half an eye on popular texts
blow up success stories
after the facts have settled down

making them greater than was imaginable
because then they become true, as old
as mankind and the world

Poem 2226
Amsterdam, 2019-04-26

Hafsa bint Umar (in year 632)
Jesus and Muhammad are honorary titles
Muhammadun rasulu Ilah = Praise to the messenger of God

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Religion: commandments 
Keyword: Islam^ 
Keyword: Honour / Fame 
 

Zywa Growth web

So many spiders on one superweb
with the captains in the middle, as a seal
of the covenant that makes them mighty

The threads are strongly spun
but the jumpers on the edge
are hungry and have no more preys

So what else can the captains do
but go further and push the boundaries
because brotherhood improves the world

That is the great peace ideal
The loot and the taxes pay
for it and keep the spiders alive

With all their names
the captains swear and adjure:
the web is sacred, it has to be

larger, much larger, it will
have to grow worldwide
After that we'll see further

Poem 2225
Amsterdam, 2019-04-26

[1] Ummah, [2] World Wide Web
Caliph Abu Bakr and the leaders (in year 632)

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Power: growth 
Keyword: Islam^ 
 

Zywa Broken in the mouth

Like many girls, I got a reputation
for being beautiful, with long hair

but I do not care
I am no more than another

I learned, when I married
a simple man

I could live in a royal way
(caravans fill the houses and the stables)

but I don't believe
that the rich can enter

through the eye of the needle
in the gates of Jerusalem

They broke the stone
The pieces will lie in the mouth

as long as there are poor families

Poem 1858
Amsterdam, 2018-10-02

Zaynab bint Jahsh (in year 638)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Ethics: practice 
Keyword: Islam^ 
Keyword: Poverty: action 
 

Imperial words

that are law never lie down --


in everyone's heart.


Een keizerlijk woordEin kaiserliches
dat wet is, gaat nooit liggen --Wort als Gesetz legt sich nie --
in alle harten.in allen Herzen.

Poem S1575
Amsterdam, 2022-11-26

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Power: compulsion / violence 
 

Zywa Man of honour

Today too, I will do the right things
Then no one will mock me

My revenge claws fast and far
until world peace is established
for lack of opponents

I don't need riches, I want power
but not for me, I'm a servant
The honour and the memory are enough for me

Let the best poets sing of me
name my deeds and praise them
as those of a great man:

the righteous hero of the sea
to Jerusalem, Damascus and Baghdad
Rome's strict father's hand

to the Himalayas and above
up to the seventh heaven

Poem 2224
Amsterdam, 2019-04-26

Caliph Umar ibn al-Chattab "al-Farooq" (AD 638)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Power: pride 
Keyword: Islam^ 
Keyword: Ambition 
 

Zywa A chest full of knives

Trust is a chest full of knives
that you hand out to achieve something
Dangerous to life, but indispensable

I know it never goes well
in the fight against abuse
and all other (self-interest)

Yet I am not afraid
to divide
and rule

that old lesson
how to subdue the knives
so that they settle themselves

to peace benefits over blood-
shed, that is really a matter
of perseverance until I succeed

in uniting the people

Poem 2223
Amsterdam, 2019-04-26

Caliph Uthman ibn Affan (AD 654)
Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Peace: nonviolent 
Keyword: Islam^ 
Keyword: Trust 
 

A variety

of pleasure will be needed --


for an afterlife.


Veel afwisselingEine Vielfalt an
van genot is er nodig --Vergnügen wird benötigt --
voor een hiernamaals.sein für ein Jenseits.

Poem S1574
Amsterdam, 2022-11-26

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Heaven / Sky / Hell 
 

Heaven gives the sun,

the Earth gives everything else:


the wealth of all life.


Hemel geeft de zon,Vom Himmel: Sonne,
de Aarde geeft de rijkdom --von der Erde: der Reichtum --
van alle leven.von allem, was lebt.

Poem H3577
Amsterdam, 2022-11-26

Collection: From Sacred Scriptures [2] 
Keyword: Earth: mother 
 

Zywa
     Collection:   From Sacred Scriptures [2]
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