Zywa But

In the tearoom, we pretend
to be good friends – in turn
we bounceball our days

If only I could make contact
but with words, it doesn't work
Our hands are close together

We gaze outside
it can't be explained
although we understand it

And that already comes too close

Poem 65
Train Amsterdam-Nijmegen, 2007-03-09

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Goodbye: discomfort 
Dedicated to: C W 
 

Once upon a time

there was a man in the moon --


and we called on him.


Er was eens een man-Ja, es war einmal
netje op de maan en wij --ein Männchen im Mond und wir --
gingen op bezoek.gingen zu Besuch.

Poem S0009
Amsterdam, 2011-12-01

July 20th, 1969 -- Neil Armstrong walks on the moon
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Moon 
 

We build walls around

our replicate paradise --


it is almost real.


We bouwen murenWir ummauerten
om ons namaakparadijs --unser Kopieparadies --
het is bijna echt.es ist fast wie echt.

Poem H0079
Amsterdam, 2011-12-13

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Paradise 
 

I think, hence I am

completely full of thinkings --


Where is the outlet?


Ik denk, dus ik benIch denke, also
vol geraakt met bedenksels --bin ich voller Denkungen --
Waar is de afvoer?Wo ist der Abfluß?

Poem S0039
Amsterdam, 2012-02-06

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Illusions:  
 

The children's parade,

with swinging paper lanterns --


and a wisp of songs.


De kinderoptocht:Der Kinderumzug,
schommelende lampions --mit schwingenden Laternen --
en een sliert liedjes.Ein Wisch von Liedern.

Poem H0265
Grossdietwil, 2012-02-18

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Party: tradition 
 

I'm getting old and

can see me ever clearer --


as who I have been.


Ik word oud en zieIch werde alt und
mijzelf steeds duidelijker --sehe mich immer klarer --
als wie ik ooit was.als wer ich je war.

Poem H0575
Amsterdam, 2013-09-27

Health Care Centre of Our Lady
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Life: course (overview) 
 

The mountains, floating

out of range above the sea:


the heavenly land.


De bergen zwevenDie Berge schweben
onbereikbaar boven zee:unnahbar über dem Meer:
das himmlische Land.

Poem H1055
Amsterdam, 2014-11-19

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Heaven / Sky / Hell 
 

The air mooes and pounds

on itself, it falls and hunts --


for equality.


De lucht boe't en bonktDie Luft muht und haut
op zichzelf, ze valt en jaagt --auf sich selbst, sie fällt und jagt --
steeds gelijkheid na.immer nach Gleichheit.

Poem S0257
Amsterdam, 2014-11-19

Atmospheric pressure differences
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Equality: 
 

His travels pinned up

on the world map, with pin-heads:


colourful conquests.


Zijn reizen: spelden,Reisen: Stecknadeln
op de wereldkaart geprikt --auf der Weltkarte, bunte --
als verovering.Eroberungen.

Poem H1059
Amsterdam, 2014-11-28

Father
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Curiosity: secret / world 
 

Zywa The other side

As a child, I could have walked to
the other side, the ice was thick enough
for me, but I belong here, looking

at the banks and the water
the boardpaddlers, the geese
and in summer the bombs
of screaming holiday children

I know the boy with quiet green eyes
the others who drink canned beer
at the tree, urinate in the canal

get pizza and kiss with chewing gum
girls who have come on a scooter
to talk to each other
and be pleased and admired

Sometimes a thick barge leaves
with thick cushions, happy people
and white balloons, sometimes I join

up in a sidecar, then I look
with a long neck over the convex
pavement of the bridge and I walk
in mind to the other side

Poem 608
Amsterdam, 2016-03-29

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Wishes 
 

Zywa Forget the herd

Finally free in an open field
where there is more to see
than I like
nothing

that catches my attention
being an obstacle
that hides
what is invisible

A lightning field of insights
that prove themselves
because once you have an eye
for the heartbeat and the breath

of the tree of life
in which you move
it is very difficult
to be blind again

and lonely
and forget
the herd
and the earth

Poem 635
De Koog, 2016-04-17

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: People: individuals 
 

Love wants to explore

the whole world together, and --


likes to live at home.


Liefde wil samenLiebe will die Welt
heel de wereld ontdekken --zusammen entdecken, und --
en ze woont graag thuis.zu Hause leben.

Poem H1554
Vaison-la-Romaine, 2016-10-11

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Love: is all 
 

Zywa Dreamflight

Looking back, I recognize pieces
of the road that I went
The connections are gone
there are still no signposts

I can count the fictional
reality, the numbers
of seasons, homes, friends
The rest is a dream cord

of desires and parties
that I have not forgotten
of unrequited love
and perfect moments

memories in the deep
black, lighting up
as floating islands
with graceful peaks

of adventures
a journey
through the abysses of the night
that make children cry

Poem 1036
Amsterdam, 2017-02-18

Attraction "Dreamflight" in the Efteling since 1993
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Life: course (overview) 
Keyword: Brabant% 
 

Zywa Touched

Less than two square meters
that isn't much skin

to make contact
with so many people

who attract me, all the children
I would like to cherish

besides the cows and the donkeys
with whom I'd like to have a talk

too many animals to mention
also the amazing beings

that plants are, their strength
and acceptance to carelessly

lose to fruitrobbers what they get
and the stones, rough and smooth

in all colours, they touch me
down to the finest folds, deep

in my body with the wind
of my thoughts

Poem 1149
Amsterdam, 2017-03-07

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Awareness: reality 
 

Zywa They just have to suffer

We must suffer
until we are strong enough

to make demands
But why me?

I only have one life, may have
it better in another country

and if they don't want me there
then the people here should

help me, even though
they have nothing

to do with it except that
that we are humans

They just have to
suffer

until they will:
be the owner

of the problems and the solutions
the owner of their ideals

Poem 1229
Amsterdam, 2017-03-19

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Together: solidarity 
 

Zywa I have finished my work

I have finished my work
Of course it was not ready
but I'm going

to start something new
Bye colleagues, bye rooms
I had a dream last night

The spruces loosened lightly
from their roots, green cones
rose in the stirred up dust

They did not fly away
but tilted and stayed
hanging upside down

a row of tree corpses
Their waving branches
darken the light

Nobody knew what to do
The same as before?
Or eat something

something tasty, maybe
it will be the last time
The sky darkens

The fish do not bite
Shall we take off our clothes?
There is no time left

to get to know each other
I have finished my work
It would never be ready anyway

Poem 1832
Amsterdam, 2018-09-03

300 el x 50 el x 30 el (FC Bergman) (2011)
Staging of the theatre piece, performed today in the Amsterdam Municipal Theatre
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: New: new start 
Tribute to: FC Bergman 
 

Life is a journey,

you get to know a few roads --


and a few habits.


Het leven: een reis.Die Lebensreise:
Je leert wat wegen kennen --man lernt einige Wege --
en wat gewoonten.und Gewohnheiten.

Poem S0783
Amsterdam, 2018-09-12

After ghazal 1 by Hafez (1320-1390)
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Life: course (on the way) 
 

Zywa Too hot to sleep

I am bored, but the view
of the city at night
is beautiful, still

too hot to sleep or count
the skyscrapers, the stacks
of illuminated windows

My hand waves goodnight
Would anyone be looking at me?
I squint my eyes

to peeping telescopes
then I cast them down again
to read a little, insights

I already had, but can not rhyme
right now, with the world
that keeps me awake

If only I could sleep, dream
of light towers in the desert
without being there myself

Poem 1943
Amsterdam, 2018-11-29

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Foreigners: guest 
 

Zywa Female knight

It is my destiny
to be a female knight
awakened in a dark tomb
my soul draws drops of the deep sea
up from the earth

into a fountain of love
which lifts me to float
to the light

It is my destiny
to be a female knight, young
without blemish on my soul
which hangs within me waiting
for reports of a distress

too bad
to check off unseen
I must take action

It is my destiny
to be a female knight, I intervene
and impetuously turn the odds
with superpowers
of good will

Poem 2034
Amsterdam, 2019-01-17

Tristan's ascension (Bill Viola) (2005)
Video for a performance of Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde"
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Ethics: virtues 
Keyword: Idealism 
 

Zywa Book chest

Laws liberate people
more than other texts

the smoother, the more
they are like a clear lake

making the elusive depth
of the sky understandable

but not the separate
laws that are on their own

as poles, that limit
oppress and obstruct

that have given me a life sentence
in the monk land

between Meuse and Waal
where I smooth out legal rules

to world laws that are not after
anything but everyone's freedom

to achieve what one can
contribute to city or country

From a chest, I eat
books, the chest eats me

and takes me to the other side
I flee to my freedom

Poem 2186
Amsterdam, 2019-03-27

Hugo Grotius (1621)
Escape from Loevestein Castle on March 22nd, 1621
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Freedom: self-determination 
Tribute to: Grotius, Hugo 
 

Zywa B EÃU FORT motor ride

I sit on the full power
of 210 horses, running
across Rooster beach
I exist, I live
ouring fast

my soul devours the surf
and the dune, the landscape
of my freedom, my dream
and reality fall together
on the border of the sea and friends

where I embrace my Norton
strong, autonomous and free
I create image by image
life from my desires
I create love in myself

Poem 2258
Amsterdam, 2019-06-03

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Life: lust (enthusiasm) 
Keyword: Belgie% 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

Zywa We take time (to live)

It is going well, we are driving fast
away from where the bombs fall
Fatima's hand sways move move

We are many
stronger than the rules
We break through them

to a rich country, not a monastery
although we will live slowly, but
we bring our own rules

We want to work, take time
to learn and get married
to have a future

and to give it
to our parents
who did not believe in it

Poem 2270
Amsterdam, 2019-06-16

Hamsa = five, the amulet "hand of Fatima", originally "hand of Inanna" (Sumer, 5000 BC), then "hand of Ishtar" (Akkad, 2300 BC); Jews used the hand against the evil eye
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Migration 
 

Zywa American Dream [1]

I dream myself in the sun
on Italian shoes, eyes
follow and admire me

That is what's missing, naturally
should have been there after years of toil:
being in my place, tired but satisfied

waking up in an easy life
(fish jump into my pan
  the cotton is flowering
  high in the summer)

I dream myself in America
Spotlights are waiting for me
They follow and admire me

where I come, in light halls
and clean streets smelling of
jasmine clouds and sweet men

who bow to my analysis
(I speak, light on my feet
  with big, wise cat eyes
  Thank you. I have made my mark.)

Poem 2282
Amsterdam, 2019-06-19

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Ambition 
Dedicated to: Magda S 
 

Zywa Playing

I have become old
and I can only play
with my thoughts
the rest is too stiff

But don't be mistaken
it is pleasant to feel
in today's warm wind
what it is like

to stand on the jetty
in a thin dress, waiting
without the need
to do anything

but enjoy, flapping
in the sun, while I
can see now how
it all will continue

My crush and the child
who embraces my leg
the same child next to me
with her own child

on her arm, our feet
in the surf, breathing
one love, three women
with wild hair

just like on the mountain
where I throw up the ashes
into the world, that's how I play
my life together

Poem 2285
Amsterdam, 2019-06-19

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Old age: exempted 
 

Zywa I am a balloon

I am a balloon
tied together
with strings of gravity

to a hawser of people
in a knot of umbilical cords
(the earth)

My inflated head thinks
to be independent, floating
in its own piece of heaven

(a fantastic existence
  above all the complications
  in the knot)

so full of all sensations
that I don't want to puncture them
because I'm a balloon

Poem 2287
Amsterdam, 2019-06-20

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: People: individuals 
 

Zywa Old keys

I have kept boxes (first quality)
with nails, a jam jar full
of keys from unknown doors

and a pile of suitcases
foundjects from mother's house
memories that have become secrets

as undescribed museum pieces
sparsely on a shelf in the shed
put away by me for later, ever

to open my past with it
when time stands still, and I
no longer find doors

to the future, only
can get lost in the present
or in the past

Poem 2289
Amsterdam, 2019-06-20

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Memory: 
 

Zywa Migrating

The brains above my mouth
make me eat on time
two extensions detect
food and that's how

it got out of hand

The eyes made the hands go
to the inedible world, and
made them build extra rooms
to store things

I too went
and from time to time
I migrated back to the past
my friends and family

with whom my itch started
to make cartwheels
to another world, away
from the table at home

where I had eaten enough
and was looking into the distance
where I hoped to be touched
by a new love

Poem 2325
Amsterdam, 2019-07-01

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Evolution 
 

Zywa You are different

Falcons do not grab footwear
for their nest, not the slipper
that the Pharaoh gets served on his lap

     He looks up and everyone
     looks with him
     at the falcon in the sky


It must be a sign
an assignment from heaven
and the search begins

     The welfare of the entire nation
     is at stake, the question
     is: to find or to fall


The court moves from cottage to cottage
to see the women and the girls
all over the wide delta

     The heavenly slipper fits at the foot
     of the foreign Pale Face
     the slave who is different


She had put it to dry
after washing clothes in the river
and shows the other one

Poem 2390
Amsterdam, 2019-08-14

Pale Face (-1550)
Story that is laid in the time of Pharaoh Ahmose I, who expelled the Hyksos from the Nile Delta and then became Pharaoh in Thebes (from 1550 BC). From 1540 he controlled all of Egypt.
Rhodopis ("Pink Face" / "Pale Face") will undoubtedly have been bullied with worse abusive words than her nickname, but Strabo (Amaseia 64 BC - AD 24) has omitted them when he recorded the story under the title Rhodopis

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Equality: 
Dedicated to: T D 
 

Poem 2487
Amsterdam, 2019-10-29

Hugo Grotius (1583-1645): "Mare Liberum" ("The Freedom of the Seas") in 1609, escape from Loevestein Castle on March 22nd, 1621
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Freedom: 
Tribute to: De Groot, Hugo 
 

I ride on the bus,

the day begins, I wake up --


in trusted landscapes.


Ik zit in de bus,Ich sitze im Bus,
de dag begint, ik ontwaak --es wird Tag, ich wache auf --
in vertrouwd landschap.in vertrautem Land.

Poem H2607
Amsterdam, 2019-11-15

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Safety: security / comfort 
Dedicated to: Florentin dK 
 

Every day I pass

the forest, it's hard to see --


that we're transforming.


Ik rijd dagelijksIch reise täglich
door het bos, onopvallend --durch den Wald, unauffällig --
veranderen we.verwandeln wir uns.

Poem H2608
Amsterdam, 2019-11-15

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Change: process 
Dedicated to: Florentin dK 
 

I'm exhaling clouds

and inhaling the clear air --


the sun shines in me.


Ik blaas wolkjes uit,Ich blase Wolken
adem heldere lucht in --aus und atme klare Luft --
de zon schijnt in mij.Sonnenschein in mir.

Poem H2609
Amsterdam, 2019-11-15

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Breath 
Dedicated to: Florentin dK 
 

I train my body

daily to embrace people --


with strength and beauty.


Ik train mijn lichaamIch trainiere hart,
om mensen te omarmen --um Menschen zu umarmen --
met kracht en schoonheid.mit Kraft und Schönheit.

Poem H2610
Amsterdam, 2019-11-15

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Care: body 
Dedicated to: Florentin dK 
 

It's a lot of work,

to be who you want to be --


a lot of redo's.


Het is best veel werk,Es ist viel Arbeit,
te worden wie je wilt zijn --zu werden, wer du sein willst --
het moet vaak over.mit vielen Nochmals.

Poem H2611
Amsterdam, 2019-11-15

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Identity: change 
Dedicated to: Florentin dK 
 

Zywa Stepmama

I would
escape, not know better
and run off, maybe scared
without a street cat helping me
but free

I would
go straight for my dreams
the smells that I can't reach
stroll through hedges and gardens
I'll never forget it

Would it
have happened that way
and do you want that too
or is attention enough
when you meow

Entertain me, Caress me
or are you asking: Comfort me
you just have no idea
what prison is
set me free

Poem 2781
Amsterdam, 2020-03-15

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Freedom: 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

The sea used to be

an ocean, because smaller --


was everyone's world.


De zee was vroegerDas Meer war früher
een oceaan, want kleiner --ein Ozean, weil kleiner --
was ieders wereld.war die Welt aller.

Poem H2695
Amsterdam, 2020-05-05

In Scotland, the North Sea was called "German Ocean"
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: World(view) 
 

Moments are tatters,

preserved by me in series --


making up my life.


Momenten: flarden,Momente: Fetzen,
door mij bewaard in reeksen --von mir in Serien bewahrt --
vormen mijn leven.bilden mein Leben.

Poem H2766
Amsterdam, 2020-08-17

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Life: course (overview) 
 

Do you want to shine

like a star, a fire, bright, hot --


reaching us lukewarm?


Wil je schitterenMöchtest du leuchten
als een ster, een vuur, fel, heet --wie ein Stern, ein Feuer, heiß --
ons lauw bereiken?uns lau erreichen?

Poem S1064
Amsterdam, 2020-10-09

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Honour / Fame 
 

Zywa Not just in between

By bike, I came to Poppel
and Cleves, abroad
Friends lived in Gendt

I got firm thighs and calves
school was in the city
college in another city

Then my world no longer fitted
in a circle of an hour's travel
but in Amsterdam it was again

like in my childhood, everything
nearby, the world big enough
to move in it under my own power

New friends within reach
and occasionally new neighbours
but family members scattered

across distant regions, sometimes travelled
in call and engine time, never just
together in between

Poem 3287
Amsterdam, 2020-11-25

13 km Van Musschenbroekstraat 4 in Tilburg to Poppel
15 km Bongerdstraat 82 in Beek (Berg en Dal) to Gendt
18 km via Kranenburg to Cleves (40 km to Kevelaer)
13 km from Amsterdam Oud-West to Zaandam
15 km from Amsterdam Oud-West to Gaasperdam

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Together: connected 
Dedicated to: Ruud J 
Dedicated to: Lucy J 
Dedicated to: Johan A 
Dedicated to: Louisa B 
Dedicated to: Afke B 
 

Days without a view,

right through the forest, with inns --


as signs to the world.


Dagen uitzichtloosTage aussichtslos
het woud door, met herbergen --durch den Wald, mit Gasthäusern --
als wereldwijzer.als Weiser der Welt.

Poem S1222
Tilburg, 2021-08-25

The forested country in earlier centuries
View of the south, from the residential towers of the Cenakel in Tilburg

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Economy 
 

Zywa Explore horizons

I can't live faster
than my body
can keep up with
Cycling and boating are the maximum

A short train or bus trip may go well
if I pay attention and transform
not read or sleep, otherwise
I will have to endure the skipped life
at a blow on arrival

Express trains and planes break me
up, then I immediately fall behind
and it doesn't help
to count down the kilometers
every five minutes
by tens at a time

My roots are lithe
they make me reach
for the world
to which they bind me
that's why I move them carefully
and slowly when I set out
to explore horizons

Poem 3961
Amsterdam, 2021-09-27

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Calm: tardiness 
 

Visual arts can

certainly suggest lust, just --


not with nudity.


De beeldende kunstDie bildende Kunst
kan wel lust suggereren --kann schon Lust suggerieren --
maar niet met naaktheid.nur, nicht mit Nacktheit.

Poem H3240
Amsterdam, 2022-03-26

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Body: naked 
 

I met Sharon, walked

her along unknown canals --


with bikes everywhere.


Ik liep met SharonIch führte Sharon
langs onbekende grachten --entlang stiller Kanäle --
met heel veel fietsen.voller Fahrräder.

Poem H3325
Amsterdam, 2022-06-10

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Neighbours: along the way 
Keyword: Amsterdam% 
 

Upon departure

we're packed with expectations --


and sweet homesickness.


Wachten op vertrek,Bei der Abreise voll-
bepakt met verwachtingen --gepackt mit Erwartungen --
en zoete heimwee.und süßem Heimweh.

Poem H3346
Amsterdam, 2022-06-25

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Journey: explore 
Keyword: Expectation 
 

The world we know is

an evolutionary


boundary crossing.


De wereld is eenDie Welt ist eine
evolutionaireevolutionäre
grensoverschrijding.Grenzüberschreitung.

Poem H3682
Amsterdam, 2023-01-23

Boundary crossing #1, Evolution
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Evolution 
 

Emperors and kings

defend their authority --


They cross boundaries.


Keizers en vorstenKaiser und Fürsten
verdedigen hun gezag --verteidigen ihre Macht --
grensoverschrijdend.grenzüberschreitend.

Poem S1644
Amsterdam, 2023-01-23

Boundary crossing #2, War
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Power: compulsion / violence 
 

People with prestige

always want more, they have to --


cross another line.


Mensen met statusMenschen mit Status
willen meer, ze moeten wel --wollen mehr, also sind sie --
over de schreef gaan.grenzüberschreitend.

Poem S1645
Amsterdam, 2023-01-23

Boundary crossing #3, Assault
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Power: manipulation 
 

Tourists are a plague,

going further and further --


they keep crossing lines.


Al die toeristenTouristenplage:
zijn een plaag, steeds verder gaan --immer noch weiter über-
ze over de schreef.schreiten sie Grenzen.

Poem S1646
Amsterdam, 2023-01-23

Boundary crossing #4, Tourism
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Tourism 
 

Unsolicited

they come to help, so modest --


is their haughtiness!


Ongevraagd komenUngefragt kommen
ze helpen, zo bescheiden --sie zu Hilfe, bescheiden --
is hun eigendunk!ihre Eitelkeit!?

Poem S1654
Amsterdam, 2023-02-04

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Pride 
Keyword: Colonialism 
 

Zywa The reins of fate

After today's four steps
I'm sitting in socks by the fireplace
My heavy boots are standing straight
and my back is still rattling

I am a henchman
I push the boundaries
of the ladies in love
and the rich gentlemen

I leave horse turd behind
and take the scent of freesias with me
The water in the bucket sloshes
like yearning love

I don't travel alone
We are armed
The papers are precious
Sealed letters

Beginning and maintaining
of relationships and major interests
Between the stops, the reins
of fate are in my hands

Poem 5168
Amsterdam, 2023-05-08

Four steps: four postal stops
Postilions (post-coachmen) wear heavy boots, to protect against getting jammed; these boots are named after the average distance between the posts (postal stops, relays): "bottes de sept lieues" ("seven-league boots")
Postillon d'amour = Post-coachman of love

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Migration 
Keyword: Fate 
 

Zywa On the way [2]

From the river, forest everywhere
with yellow knights, turkey tails
and white-bearded trees

Sometimes there is a silence
and I hear the treecreeper
here and there a stone

which is described
on the map of this area
a map that is not a map

but a summary
of intersections, bridges
and solitary trees

Tonight I will rest
in an easy chair
that important invention

after the folding chair, the tilting chair
the swivel chair and the wheelchair
luckily I'm whole inside

not shaken in a coach
with suspension
fit for a rest day

for considerations
about my journey and the world
accepts the outcome

Poem 5254
Amsterdam, 2023-07-10

- White-bearded trees: beard lichen (usnea)
- Folding chair: [1] folding stool (2000 BC, Egypt), [2] Roman folding chair (sella curulis, curule seat) for dignitaries, [3] folding chair with armrests
- Tilting chair (reclining chair): 1900 BC in Egypt
- Swivel chair: AD 1505, Martin Löffelholz
- Wheelchair: for disabled persons (6th century BC, China and Greece), rolling office chair (AD 1840, Charles Darwin)
- Coach with suspension: reinvented in the Middle Ages

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Life: course (on the way) 
Keyword: Europa% 
 

Per 100 travel

kilometres: have a stay --


of at least 10 hours.


Reken per 100Pro 100 Reise-
reiskilometers minstens --kilometer: mindestens --
op 10 uur verblijf.10 Stunden Besuch.

Poem H4075
Amsterdam, 2023-08-25

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Journey: explore 
Dedicated to: Pieter W 
 

On top of the wall

I lift up the ladder, high --


down to the outside.


Boven op de muurIch steh auf der Wand,
til ik de ladder hoog op --hebe die Leiter, auf die --
naar de buitenkant.andere Seite.

Poem H4176
Amsterdam, 2023-09-23

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Life: environment 
 

Exploring the world,

you better not be afraid --


of getting lost there.


Wie de wereld wilDie Welt erkunden,
verkennen, moet niet bang zijn --keine Angst davor haben --
er te verdwalen.sich zu verirren.

Poem H4306
Amsterdam, 2023-11-25

Lost among the notes (Gözde Köse) (2021)
Composition "Verdwaald tussen de noten" for piano, arranged by René van Münster for eight cellos, performed by the Cello Octet in the Meervaart Theatre in Amsterdam on November 25th, 2023
Gözde Köse is born in 2008

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Child: teenager (daring) 
Tribute to: Kose, Gozde 
 

Changes can be hard,

or smooth, be destruction or --


a pile of boxes.


Veranderingen,Veränderungen,
hard of zacht, verwoesting of --hart, weich, Zerstörung oder --
een stapel dozen.ein Stapel Kisten.

Poem H4343
Amsterdam, 2023-12-06

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Change: revolution 
 

Zywa Trip Control

Artemis, Artemis
wake up, Artemis
do you hear us, it's time
the dream is over

     The earth is beautiful
     so little and precious
     the universe so big
     and I'm just floating here

Artemis, Artemis
wake up, Artemis
it's time to eat
and get to work

     I love all of you
     and you the most
     What wonderful peace
     I'm so light here

Put your helmet on
and come back, hello
here is Ground Control
Ten

nine
Artemis, eight, Artemis
seven, six, we're counting down
engines on, four, three

everything's fine, two
brace yourself, and one
on the way home
Have a good trip!

Poem 5404
Amsterdam, 2024-01-03

Space Oddity (David Bowie) (1969)
Song (album "David Bowie" #2)
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Journey: in the spirit 
Keyword: Ecstasy 
Tribute to: Bowie, David 
 

Bodies keep going,

keep seeking a pleasant life --


whatever happens.


Lichamen, zoekendKörper, suchend nach
naar een aangenaam leven --einem bequemen Leben --
wat er ook gebeurt.egal was passiert.

Poem H4494
Amsterdam, 2024-02-04

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Body: functioning 
 

Zywa Homo explorens / Exploring man

Looking back, they read Innocence
and Peace above the gates
that closed on them
but no one knew whether
the exit had an inscription too

I wonder if it could
have been Distress
and Loneliness, no
those were empty words
to them at the time

The desire to know
more, to discover
what existed beyond
the walls, was the unrest
that drove them too

and that swelled into a storm
of progress, a dance
of the Great Time
that destructive power
of acquiring knowledge

Poem 5428
Amsterdam, 2024-02-23

Distress and Loneliness: novel "The Golden House" (2017, Salman Rushdie), chapter (3-) 34: "Your work goes well when your life's going terribly. Is that a rule? Loneliness and Heartbreak: these are the names of the gates of Eden?"
Storm of progress: interpretation by Walter Benjamin (thesis 9 of "Über den Begriff der Geschichte" from 1940) of the painting "Angelus Novus" ("New Angel" / "Young Angel") by Paul Klee, painted in 1920, purchased by Walter Benjamin in 1921
Dance (Nata) of the Great Time (Mahakala): Shiva

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Life: discover / explore 
Keyword: Knowledge: research 
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
Tribute to: Benjamin, Walter 
 

Zywa Halfway station

If I behave, I can participate
half as a half-grown as if
it were fun in that world
on its head that thinks it can

cheer me up with a smile, kid
the best time of your life...
Cynics! Down with them! Down with fake!
I have square shoulders

just wait, I'm beating
the drum, I'm in
the hangout
about to

They have been hanging
for so long that their brains turn
everything around, having no idea
what's real, what's fake

Poem 5441
Amsterdam, 2024-03-04

Tarot: the Hanged Man
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Puberty 
 

Zywa In Rome

I knew my neighbourhood
the streets to everything
I knew

but all those streets
didn't go anywhere
I learned, and I went

on larger streets
into the wide world
to other neighbourhoods

and those streets too
didn't go anywhere
I learned, only

comfortably home again
That's why nowadays I sit still
at home in my Rome, and

one after the other is coming
towards me over invisible roads
fast stars in the sky

of my thoughts

Poem 2072
Amsterdam, 2019-02-01

The roads of the social media (lead to "Rome")
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: World(view) 
 

Zywa Teapot Books Mikado

I like early mornings
then I'm on my way with a cart
and every day I find something

that has been put on the pavements
of the city, a teapot
tools, books, mikado
an outdated radio
a kitchen chair and stuff

In the winter I rummage about in the pub
in the summer along the canals
A failed, sometimes beloved man

Till my true one and I
will occupy an empty house
with a teapot, books, mikado
tools, an outdated radio
a kitchen chair and stuff

Poem 150
Amsterdam, 2010-09-13

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Love: wish (action) 
 

Zywa See, hear, and speak no evil

I am me and you are you
There are too many people

to possibly love
too many to possibly live without

manners, although it takes
the joy of the marvel

of each other, every other
you meet, you and me

who is like us
The people next to me

on the train are talking
I hear their stories, luckily

I don't belong to them
I hope

They are so different, or even
worse: I am the same

We leave the marvel
unspoken, unseen

Poem 114
Train Amsterdam-Nijmegen, 2008-07-28

Avalokitesvara (the Lord who looks [at the world],/small>)
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: People: fellow man 
 

Zywa Intermediate man

I thought it was something of the past
the sharp division
between yes and no, guilt and innocence
contaminated and pure, woman and virgin

But the computer leaves me
with no choice but to be
friends or not, committed
or available, yes or no

a response, a date
stand still or take a step
in five possible directions
and if the game goes wrong

they pretend you can delete
everything and start again
your experiences hidden
behind a clean slate

for new choices
which is quite a big deal
in life where dreams are
the game and temporality

is real: constantly I-intermediate man
am living intermediately between everything
in intermediate scores and intermediate times -
an intermediary at intermediate stations

Poem 895
Amsterdam, 2016-12-15

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Time: temporality 
 

Zywa The beauty

Prosperity in city and country, see
the light under the clouds in the showroom
of earthly paradise, see

a glimpse of ourselves
in the looks of those days
the beauty of their attention

their desires
in younger years of the world –
the same as ours

We process and preserve
we build and improve
we create the beauty

in which we want to live
Here it is collected, see
it is good

Poem 2272
Amsterdam, 2019-06-17

National museum in Amsterdam
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Museum 
Keyword: Amsterdam% 
 

Zywa Art web

In the museum the wind blows
from everywhere to everywhere, like us
visitors from all over the world

We carry a culture web, nourish it
with the collections of the museums
which are larger than their buildings

We carry the art
with us, it is greater than we are
greater than our time and abode

We carry out the art
the history that connects us
and always does continue where it ends

Poem 2048
Amsterdam, 2019-01-22

National museum in Amsterdam
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Museum 
Keyword: Amsterdam% 
 

Zywa Reaching

The world a maze
under the nut tree
in this well-arranged garden

Follow a path
learn how it goes
what is important

Travel with strangers
experiencing the secret
with our senses

And reach further
re-create the world
beyond our lives

This is our world
how it was and can be
carefully we reach

For beauty and stories
we reach
for contact

With other lives
we connect
we connect
from heart to heart

Poem 2271
Amsterdam, 2019-06-16

National museum in Amsterdam
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Museum 
Keyword: Amsterdam% 
 

Zywa Embrace

Come in, I kiss your eyes
I'll show you everything
Take your time, come as often as you like
and you will leave satisfied

Take a bath
in all my colours – soft
like powder brushes they caress
your look

I embrace your attention
with the gold of history
Here everything is
forever young

Unconditionally, I fold myself
to your needs
I give
images you'll never forget

Be surprised, enchanted, thrilled
Come inside and flow
through me
I'm there for you

Poem 1227
Amsterdam, 2017-03-19

National museum in Amsterdam
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Museum 
Keyword: Amsterdam% 
 

Zywa Tall grown-ups

Here we grow
We add history
to our lives, and beauty

We bring old masterpieces
to life by looking
in time mirrors

in which we also see ourselves:
tall grown-ups
with a museum in our head

quiet rooms
in which we can wander
between reality and ideals

the past and dreams of the future
At any time
Tall grown-ups

Poem 2047
Amsterdam, 2019-01-22

National museum in Amsterdam
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Museum 
Keyword: Amsterdam% 
 

Zywa Skirting along the sea

Tires hum, backs are bent
clouds of words drift along:
cyclists skirting along the sea

They pedal and talk
but don't smell
what I smell
don't look like I look

They sweat out fragrances
repeat their fiddle-faddle in monologues

They feel important

Poem 112
Amsterdam, 2008-07-26

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: People: fellow man 
Keyword: Holland% 
 

Zywa The stone raft

The sun sets in our beautiful
land of the sunset, let it go
wrong, the voters shout

let there be a power failure
let the earth be torn and the dogs
be barking, let the sea roar

They dive and turn
like a flock of starlings
There is a system in it

that is difficult to influence
by directors, like birdwatchers
they explain the omens

After the great quake, countries break
off and they sail away, their cape cuts
through the ocean: a proud rock titan

full of rabbits and settlers
who hole up behind angry words
because it is so complicated

They want a course of their own
they want a new sun
The women are pregnant

Poem 2030
Amsterdam, 2019-01-14

Brexit
"A jangada de pedra" (1986, José de Sousa Saramago)
"La balsa de piedra" (2002, George Sluizer)

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Elections 
Keyword: Politics^ 
Tribute to: Saramago, Jose dS  
Tribute to: Sluizer, George 
 

Zywa Just wait

Nobody notices it
yet, but I have it in me

the brilliant ideas and the authority
to make things run

as they should, worked out
in detail in my reports

My promotion is a matter
of time, my work will be seen

it is already there
in my head, ready

to be announced, politely
taking everyone into consideration

Yes, I adapt, I wait
for the right time

and prepare everything
I see it in my mind

I know how the world works
and when the time comes, we can

all be satisfied

Poem 2031
Amsterdam, 2019-01-15

The double (Richard Ayoade) (2014)
Film
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Confidence 
Tribute to: Ayoade, Richard 
 

The man drove so fast

that he was first to arrive --


at his accident.


De man reed zo snelDer Mann fuhr so schnell,
dat hij als eerste aankwam --dass er als erster ankam --
bij zijn ongeluk.an seinem Unfall.

Poem S0002
Amsterdam, 2011-11-18

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: People: unwise 
 

By a litter bin

in a whiff of petrol air --


we're at a standstill.


Bij een afvalbakAn den Mülleimern
in een vleug benzinelucht --in einem Hauch von Benzin --
staan we even stil.stehen wir kurz still.

Poem H3313
Amsterdam, 2022-05-30

Petrol station
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: On the way 
 

The flying saucer:

under the large elytron --


the nipples hang down.


Onder het dekschildDas große Raumschiff:
van de vliegende schotel --unter den Flügeldecken --
hangen de tepels.hängen die Zitze.

Poem H3314
Amsterdam, 2022-05-30

Petrol station "Green Planet" on the A28 (near Pesse)
Collection: Migration 
Keyword: Consume 
 

Zywa The Ship of Fools

The journey is restless, but
the ship is marvelous
It's a beautiful ship

Unfortunately without ship gnomes
to help the whole lot escape, no
there are only fools on board

who sing songs of freedom
and toast to distant beaches
Alas, we get off our course

The magnetic field loses strength
and the north pole is shifting
Ports remain unread

Sessilia grab us by the keel
growing anchors to the deep
of the restless water

The unreachable moon draws
a sweet scent in the salty air
But who could live there?

Poem 4511
Amsterdam, 2022-06-05

The Ship of Fools (Plato) (-407)
"Ship of fools" (in book IV of "Politeia" ["The Republic"], 407 BC, Plato)
"Het narrenschip" ("The Ship of Fools", 1491, Hieronymus Bosch)
"Ship of Fools" and "Land Ho!" (album "Morrison Hotel", 1970, The Doors)
Since 1900, the North Magnetic Pole has shifted 1,100 km towards Canada, and since 1850, the strength of the magnetic field has decreased by 10%

Collection: Migration 
Keyword: People: unwise 
Tribute to: Plato 
Tribute to: Bosch, Jheronymus 
 

Zywa