Zywa Through the walls I hear you

Through the walls I hear you
sing so beautifully, I wish you
were here with me, close to me

Maybe, maybe
have I finally, finally
fallen in love

I long for you, your songs so true
your happiness and sadness too
Shall you see mine? I hope so, yes I do

Then we will be each other's
sweet arms where we can go
to be safe from dangers, though

my heart and hands are free
I like to give them, they are mine
If I give them, they still are mine
This is how giving never ends

Through the walls I hear you
sing so beautifully, I wish you
were here with me, close to me

Poem 48
Vaison-la-Romaine, 2006-06-08

This land is mine (Dido) (2003)
Song (album "Life for rent")
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Love: harmony 
Tribute to: Dido (Armstrong, Dido) 
 

Zywa The wind

I leave, I take my bag and close the door
bye sunken road, the mailbox in the bend
bye yellow broom with your enchanting scent
bye bench, where grand-dad apple used to explore
the world by following the setting sun
together we have had a lot of fun
I go away, I go away

I feel the wind, where will it blow?
What makes me happy, I don't know
I'm strong enough, I want to find out more
about what I am longing for


Today my new life starts, according to my plan
I'll find a room and take a job, and then I can
begin to grow again, because that's not
possible in the endlessly repeated plot
of living in this country atmosphere
I really will not lock me up in here
I go away, I go away

I feel the wind . . .

It feels so funny, like a school exam
here on my grand-dad's bench, from where I am
looking in the distance; there will be
the new, unknown, with friends, awaiting me
the rush of entertainment, night and day
I go away, I go away

I feel the wind . . .

I feel the wind, I do want more, I go away
and maybe I'll come back here happily one day

Poem 50
Flight Marseille-Amsterdam, 2006-06-11

Sand in my shoes (Dido) (2003)
Song (Dido Armstrong & Rick Nowels; album "Life for rent")
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Goodbye: leaving 
Tribute to: Dido (Armstrong, Dido) 
 

Zywa I still remember the grass

The grass, I do remember
the grass where you once lay
just smiling at my smile
now time is passing by
but your flowers still convey
their smells throughout the day
Are you coming soon, coming soon?

     It's easy here, you'll have your wish
     and I'll prepare your favourite dish
     Are you coming soon?
     Tea this afternoon?

This peaceful it can be
a couple under a tree
the hopping and the caw
of a busy jackdaw
while a pink balloon goes high
up through the orange sky
Are you coming soon, coming soon?

     It's easy here, you'll have your wish
     and I'll prepare your favourite dish
     Are you coming soon?
     Tea this afternoon?

The house cleaned-up, the papers read
I weigh the phone and go to bed
there is not much I have to tell
but I can listen very well
     Are you coming soon
     are you coming soon
     are you coming soon?
     Tea this afternoon?

Poem 68
Amsterdam, 2007-04-17

Don't leave home (Dido) (2003)
Song (Dido and Rollo Armstrong; album "Life for rent")
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Old age: lonely 
Tribute to: Dido (Armstrong, Dido) 
 

Zywa Do you have a little time?

Are we still we?
Please take a break
from being busy for
more and more
Do you have some time
do you have some time for me?

You are so good
in what you do
and what you want
not wasting a day
Do you have some time
do you have some time for me?

I hope I'm not intruding
because: I belong with you
I want to be close, I do
because my love is true
Do you have some time
do you have some time for that?

You thought of me
waiting in a queue
writing “soon I'll see
you, love you too”
Do make some time
do make some time for me

Don't run around
please, feel the ground
on which you stand
life is passing
so quickly
so quickly

Poem 709
Amsterdam, 2016-06-30

Do you have a little time? (Dido) (2003)
Song (Dido Armstrong, Rick Nowels en Mark Bates, album "Life for rent")
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Relationship 
Tribute to: Dido (Armstrong, Dido) 
 

Zywa Untwisted

Talking at public tables
and parties mixed up
with the music

seeing a yellow thought
turn orange
frankly and flushed

in the nest of fuss
blending warmly
into welcoming comfort

hanging out in each other
untwisted
wet from living

and then coated again
going outside into the music
of the rain

Poem 971
Amsterdam, 2017-01-22

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Party: celebrate 
 

Zywa Foghorn

People don't see me
they do not touch me, but
their dodging bawls at me:
Do you think we are pathetic?

Without expensive clothes
handmade shoes
arms full of beautiful friends
and the favours of a VIP?

Without keys to a villa
the brilliance of grand plans
and favours to hand out
Don't you call that life?


Shivering, I smile
at the boy in the Annex
who serves tea and looks back to see
if I happen to take notice of him

He reminds me
of something and somewhere
of my emptiness
and you

Poem 999
Amsterdam, 2017-02-09

Vaison-la-Romaine
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Missing: absence 
Keyword: Vaucluse% 
 

Zywa Complete

My family is the world
in miniature. Stop!
Turn it around: the world
is a house full of oddies

whom I fortunately don't see often
but would miss at a party
if we are not complete
because my heart is open

my chambers are empty
enough to receive
and my mouth isn't spilling over
to fill guests

with gaudy conceitedness
Come, cousins
ignorant of who you are
and meet each other

Poem 1007
Amsterdam, 2017-02-12

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Family: relatives 
Dedicated to: Vincie vG 
 

Poem 1188
Amsterdam, 2017-03-11

Song (Dido Armstrong, Rick Nowels en Mark Bates, album "Life for rent")
Collection: Untwisted 
Tribute to: Dido (Armstrong, Dido) 
 

Poem 1189
Amsterdam, 2017-03-11

Short version of poem 1188. I'll never sway (March 11th 2017)
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Sadness: process 
 

Zywa At home together
I always wished to live right by the sea
no bustle, just a simple life in which I bide
my time, but no one ever invited me
so I stayed at home and watched the tide

because I likethe quiet way
contented withthe present day
It's still okayalthough I may
decide to venturethe life-in-spe
I fantasiseas in a play
my sweet delaymy sweet delay

Houses by the sea are costly or too small
very draughty through the chinks and cracking joints
old and eaten by the frequent salty squall
that licks the planks with hungry humid tongues

Because I likethe quiet way
contented withthe present day
It's still okayalthough I may
decide to venturethe life-in-spe
I fantasiseas in a play
my sweet delaymy sweet delay

Would anyone want to be here, live with me
a simple life, no bustle, just the two
of us, at home together, being free?
Just someone to show my love to?

Because I likethe quiet way
contented withthe present day
It's still okayalthough I may
decide to venturethe life-in-spe
I fantasiseas in a play
my sweet delaymy sweet delay
Poem 1190
Amsterdam, 2017-03-11

Life for rent (Dido) (2003)
Song (Dido Armstrong, Rick Nowels, Rollo Armstrong; album "Life for rent")
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Calm: harmony 
Tribute to: Dido (Armstrong, Dido) 
 

Zywa Homo curans

To make it up there was a good fairy

She gave me her veil-cloak as a bed
as a tent, a reality
of being invisible or
making invisible, of

forgetting false kisses
for today's lips
of ever a new day
of ignoring what hurts

of never, never giving up
of spitting out the quicksand
of learning that I carry with me
what I left behind

This little piece is left
of the veil, often torn
to give half of what I had
to whom I came across

Poem 1617
Amsterdam, 2017-11-17

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Together: solidarity 
 

Zywa Humours

My colours are orange
with joy, pink

with compassion, and shades of brown
full of quiet contentment, but
mostly they are undefined

a mixture of hot and cold
of yesterday, today and my fantasy

about tomorrow, with undercurrents
from the sea of the people who
flush into me, flood after flood

past my rocks, over my dikes
and through my membranes

There are no steady places
to preserve and visit
my feelings, they are

bigger than me, they have no boundaries
and without a passport, they can

jump over to sharing together
I exchange them with family and friends
and let them change their colour

Poem 1957
Amsterdam, 2018-12-04

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Feelings 
Dedicated to: Marianne H 
 

I don't know you, but

the evening is falling, stay --


and abide with me.


Ik ken je niet, maarIch kenne dich nicht,
de avond valt al, blijf toch --aber der Abend fällt schon --
liever hier bij mij.Bleibe noch mit mir.

Poem H2410
Amsterdam, 2019-03-12

Luke 24:29
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Care: neighbours 
Keyword: Bible^ 
 

Zywa The girl from the camp

I think a lot about the girl
from the camp in Guantánamo
she is a flower among the flowers
a mountain in the mountains, she lives
and never has to go anywhere

There, birds are singing in the palms
a stream flows through the valley
the water shines softer than gold
and she is a white rose
in June and in January

About her, I want to write
sunbeams in the eternal forest
a sparkling song from my heart
in bright green words
and flaming red music

She is my soul, she melts
weapons with feathers and coral
water, with laurel she heals
the wounded deer, the girl
from the camp in Guantánamo

Poem 2787
Amsterdam, 2020-03-16

When you see a lot of foam (José Martí) (1891)
"V. Si ves un monte de espumas" ("V. When you see a lot of foam")
"Versos Sencillos" - I, III, V, XXXIX ("Simple Poems")
"Guantanamera, Guajira Guantanamera" ("Guantánamo Girl, Girl from the Guantánamo Camp", 1958, Julián Orbón)

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Simplicity 
Keyword: Cuba% 
Tribute to: Marti, Jose 
 

Zywa María, 18 years old

The gravedigger knew your feelings
for me, your free hero from Havana
He called me and gave the address

of the morgue where you were
I kissed you, your forehead
glowing ice-cold upon my lips

I kissed the hand on your stomach
and also your white shoes, no
I couldn't say goodbye

Oh María, you walked into the river
where you died of love
because you saw me

back in your city, married
to Carmen from Mexico, the woman
you wanted to be so badly

We bury you in silk
surround you with jasmine
and cover you with lilies

Poem 2793
Amsterdam, 2020-03-17

The girl from Guatemala (José Martí) (1891)
Poem "Poema IX" ("La niña de Guatemala")
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Love: heartbreak 
Tribute to: Marti, Jose 
 

Zywa The pink shoes

With a bowed head, Pilar is toiling
through the sand, she's been playing
along the edge, where the water is white
from foam, coming and flowing back
much further than she can see

Mama knows right away
Pilar, where are your shoes?
Tell me, where did you put them?
Here Señora, look, I got them

You know, I have a girl like her
but she is ill, she has a fever
and cold feet, we don't have money
to buy shoes, and all of a sudden
she was wearing these pink shoes!

Three women listen in
they flap out their handkerchief
when Pilar gives her hoop
her bucket with the shovel

and a kiss as a goodbye
to the sick girl
who will grow up and
will keep the pink shoes
in a glass jar

Poem 2799
Amsterdam, 2020-03-18

The pink shoes (José Martí) (1889)
Poem "Los zapaticos de rosa"
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Equality: 
Keyword: Cuba% 
Tribute to: Marti, Jose 
 

Zywa Where the adventure begins

In the eyes of the child
I read its thoughts on me
it guesses or may see
how dreamily I like to be

wilder than the widest sea
storming with the winds, I free-
ly cross the desert and the wilderness
mighty as a lioness
queenly great in word and deed

ready every day to meet
the toiling people's need
prepared to intervene
jumping over any ravine

to a place I want to be
finding of itself the new
questions in the eyes of a child
with which an adventure begins

Poem 2826
Amsterdam, 2020-03-23

Daydream (1882)
Poem "Sueño despierto"
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Dreaming 
Tribute to: Marti, Jose 
 

Zywa Empirical device

My thoughts are coming
from the outside, not from the inside

They find their way
from my eyes, ears, nose, tongue
and hands to my brain
where they look for a place
among the perceptions

that came in earlier on
and together they give me an idea
who I am as their sum:
an empirical device
that remembers what it experiences

and sometimes feels good with it
satisfied, happy, glad
or angry, afraid, sad
just as it has learned
from the outside world

I think, therefore I am
able to tell the difference

between judgmental thoughts and
feelings, which lock me
in old experiences
when I'm angry again
afraid again, sad again

and feelings that connect me
with everything around me, and nothing
confines me
to the system of learned
thoughts and feelings

Poem 3136
Amsterdam, 2020-07-29

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Identity:  
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

Zywa The silent steps

After jumping I learn
between tears and laughter
with steady partners
the silent steps

Sometimes I cry for later
always about bygone days
and their repetition
as if they have to be redone

Dancing I also think
about the pleasant things
that are not possible and
that I am released from

although I miss them
which I reconcile when I rest –
through an old crack
fantasy sneaks in

and there is what was

Poem 3225
Amsterdam, 2020-10-31

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Memory: 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

I keep balancing

the energy flow in me --


a meditation.


Ik balanceer steedsIch balanciere
de energiestroom in mij --den Energiefluß in mir:
een meditatie.Meditation.

Poem H2867
Amsterdam, 2020-12-22

Zhineng Qigong = wise and skillful handling of the energy of life, so that it flows in a balanced way (yin and yang)
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Meditation 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

My body reacts,

it makes me do what it likes --


it makes me think this.


Mijn lichaam handelt,Mein Körper handelt,
laat me doen wat het verlangt --lässt mich tun, was er sich wünscht --
laat me dit denken.lässt mich das wissen.

Poem H2868
Amsterdam, 2020-12-22

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Awareness: senses 
Dedicated to: Marianne H 
Dedicated to: Ali I 
 

Physical defects

don't affect my sanity --


I am    (a thinker)!


LichaamsgebrekenNein, Körperfehler
tasten mijn verstand niet aan --greifen meinen Geist nicht an --
ik ben     (een denker)!ich bin    (ein Denker)!

Poem H2870
Amsterdam, 2020-12-23

I think, therefore I am (1644)
"Je pense, donc je suis" ("Cogito ergo sum" / "I think, therefore I am", 1644, "Discours de la Méthode", René Descartes) is about whether physical existence is real, thereby separating the physical and spiritual side of existence; this division is imaginary, but it can be an aid to ethical choices and to willpower
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Balance: 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
Tribute to: Descartes, Rene 
 

Friends master the art

of just being together --


with no need to talk.


Vrienden beheersenFreunde beherrschen
de kunst om samen te zijn --die Kunst, zusammen zu sein --
zonder te praten.ohne zu reden.

Poem H2944
Amsterdam, 2021-04-28

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Friendship: 
 

There is no problem,

I don't have to lie awake --


from lying awake.


Rustig, ik hoef nietEs gibt kein Problem,
ervan wakker te liggen --ich muss gar nicht wach liegen --
dat ik wakker lig.weil ich wach liege.

Poem H3136
Amsterdam, 2021-12-01

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Sleep 
 

In the meadow lies

shiny wet a big fat worm --


Corrugated shed.


In het weiland ligtAuf der Wiese liegt
blinkend nat een vette worm --glänzend nass ein dicker Wurm --
Een stal van golfplaat.Ein Wellblechschuppen.

Poem H3345
Amsterdam, 2022-06-24

Vernacular Animal Sheds (Servaas van Belle) (2022)
Photo book "Stal - Vernacular Animal Sheds"
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Care: animals / things 
Tribute to: Van Belle, Servaas 
 

Solace and solace:

'I'll be fine', and: 'Not too bad' --


and there's happiness.


Er is troost en troost:Es gibt Trost und Trost:
'Het komt goed', en: 'Het gaat wel' --'Wird alles gut', und: 'Geht schon' --
en er is geluk.und es gibt auch Glück.

Poem H3966
Amsterdam, 2023-07-22

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Happiness (connection) 
Keyword: Comfort 
 

At night a man sings

in the Medina, someone --


answers, and a third.


Avonds zingt een man, 'sIn der Medina
in de medina, iemand --singt ein Mann, jemand macht mit --
antwoordt, en nog een.und ein anderer.

Poem H4304
Amsterdam, 2023-11-25

Opening of the concert "Common Features" by Orchestre Partout and the Cello Octet in the Meervaart Theatre in Amsterdam on November 25th, 2023 (composition by Oene van Geel)
Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Evening 
Composer: Van Geel, Oene 
 

Zywa Bi

Open and closed doors
windows shutters castles
wards and shops
towns roads borders
I go where I can
if I want to go there

Open and closed societies
monasteries and visors
letters flowers looks
lips eyes and ears
I listen and am blind
to what I don't want to see

Open and closed books
credits lines and veins
questions minds hearts
arms wounds and chakras
I speak and keep quiet
about what is kept quiet

Open and closed gardens
skies valves taps
sewers sluices vaults
coffins and graves
I hold back and resign
myself to be lonely

Open and non-open
water fire and kitchens
pans curtain endings
conversations and relationships
I am hospitable and live to myself
because there are too many people

Poem 5464
Amsterdam, 2024-03-18

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Life: environment 
 

Zywa Old hunger

You went away, I went on
loving you and out of the blue
there you are at my door
with a sleeping mat

I just sit and watch
You drop anchor
and want to show

all kinds of things, explaining them
with your hands and I have no idea
how this started

It all goes by itself
I am glad
I was home, am home

I make soup
there is rye bread
We are hungry
Old hunger

Poem 1078
Amsterdam, 2017-02-25

Collection: Untwisted 
Keyword: Reunion 
 

Zywa
     Collection:   Untwisted
GroupGermanDutch5-7-5
PencilPumiceRainLoves
CompressedBirdsIflessPhoto