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Jul 2024 · 187
[ Only now am I ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Only now am I

wearing the yellow blouse, that --


belonged to mother.
Diary (2005, Frida Vogels) - July 29th, 1957 in Amsterdam

Collection "Trench Walking"
Zywa Jul 2024
Wild waves, the shore comes

close, it narrows more and more --


Then, calm, the strait.
Poem "Het naderen van een beslissing" ("Approaching a decision", 1957, Frida Vogels)

Collection "Trench Walking"
Jul 2024 · 182
[ My feelings, I write ]
Zywa Jul 2024
My feelings, I write

poems about them, although --


that does not help me.
Diary (2005, Frida Vogels) - December 9th, 1956

Collection "Trench Walking"
Jul 2024 · 271
[ A passer-by asks ]
Zywa Jul 2024
A passer-by asks:

Where from? Where to? I walk on --


with him, in silence.
Poem "Langs 't pad liepen veel vreemden" ("Many strangers walked along the path", 1955, Frida Vogels)

Collection "Trench Walking"
Jul 2024 · 369
[ I'm happy and look ]
Zywa Jul 2024
I'm happy and look

around with astonishment --


Is there any hold?
Poem "Gelukkig zijn; en niet weten waarom" ("To be happy; and not knowing why", 1954, Frida Vogels)

Collection "Trench Walking"
Jul 2024 · 310
[ I cannot hear you ]
Zywa Jul 2024
I cannot hear you,

only the waves, wind sometimes --


but nowhere your voice.
Documentary "Louder! So I can hear you" (2022, Laura Bokhoven)

Collection "Stall"
Jul 2024 · 310
[ Before I can take ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Before I can take

off my hat, I have to wait --


for a good moment.
Play "Happy Days" (1961, Samuel Beckett), played by Antoinette Jelgersma on April 18th, 2023, in Frascati (director Erik Whien)

Collection "Stall"
Jul 2024 · 833
[ The past heroes rest ]
Zywa Jul 2024
The past heroes rest

in the dilapidated --


inn that the world is.
Collection "Rubáiyat" ("Quatrains", 1100, Omar Khayyam), quatrain "This worn caravanserai", in the 1898 version by Edward  Heron-Allen

Collection "Stream"
Jul 2024 · 153
[ My tears cannot wash ]
Zywa Jul 2024
My tears cannot wash

away what has happened, and --


everything goes on.
Collection "Rubáiyat" ("Quatrains", 1100, Omar Khayyam), quatrain "The Moving Finger writes", in the 1859 version by Edward FitzGerald

Collection "Stream"
Jul 2024 · 784
[ She just watches it ]
Zywa Jul 2024
She just watches it

with indifference, smiling --


irritatingly.
Novel "De stille kracht" ("The Hidden Force", 1900, Louis Couperus), chapter 3, § 2

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"
Jul 2024 · 357
[ Do pretend it is ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Do pretend it is

normal, yes, very normal --


it ís, all of it.
Poem "De mensen" ("People", 2019, Pieter de Bruijn Kops)

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"
Jul 2024 · 278
[ Submissive people ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Submissive people

often hide a hidden force --


An underground fire.
Novel "De stille kracht" ("The Hidden Force", 1900, Louis Couperus), chapter 4, § 2

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"
Jul 2024 · 182
[ There is a chance to ]
Zywa Jul 2024
There is a chance to

establish untruths, but truth --


is unprovable.
Treatise "De docta ignorantia" ("On learned ignorance", 1440, Nicholas of Cusa)

Study "Logik der Forschung" ("Logic of research", 1935, Karl Popper >>  "The logic of scientific discovery", 1959), about falsifiability

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"
Jul 2024 · 773
[ Disillusionment ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Disillusionment:

seeing the ridiculous --


ignoring beauty.
Novel "De stille kracht" ("The Hidden Force", 1900, Louis Couperus), chapter 2, § 1

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"
Jul 2024 · 176
[ You don't talk about ]
Zywa Jul 2024
You don't talk about

a patient, at most you say:


it is a headache.
Novel "De stille kracht" ("The Hidden Force", 1900, Louis Couperus), chapter 2, § 3

Collection "Thinkles Lusionless"
Jul 2024 · 257
[ Faith is guidable ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Faith is guidable,

while superstition hardly --


can be influenced.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 3, chapter 19

Collection "Low gear"
Jul 2024 · 292
[ Please help him, holy ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Please help him, holy

woman we don't see, help us --


You are one of us.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 3, chapter 19

Collection "Low gear"
Zywa Jul 2024
The woods are chopped down,

too bad, I'm going to save --


the tree in the square.
Column "Boeren zijn de baas" ("Farmers are boss", 2024, Marcel van Roosmalen), in the NRC of July 1st, 2024

Collection "Actively Passive"
Jul 2024 · 225
[ He's unconsciously ]
Zywa Jul 2024
He's unconsciously

incompetent, but he's nice --


when he has a beer.
Column "Boeren zijn de baas" ("Farmers are boss", 2024, Marcel van Roosmalen), in the NRC of July 1st, 2024 (about local politicians)

Collections "Specialities"
Jul 2024 · 341
[ Two people travel ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Two people travel

and they discover the world --


A journey called Love.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 3, chapter 19

Collection "Low gear"
Jul 2024 · 286
[ The jinns: a man looks ]
Zywa Jul 2024
The jinns: a man looks

in the mirror and he sees --


the back of his head.
Novel "Two Years Eight Months & Twenty-Eight Nights" (which is 1001 nights, 2015, Salman Rushdie), chapter 4 "The Strangenessses"

Painting "La réproduction interdite" ("Not to be reproduced", 1937, René Magritte)

Collection "Low gear"
Jul 2024 · 510
[ There is no wisdom ]
Zywa Jul 2024
There is no wisdom

in the East, no, everywhere --


people are foolish.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 3, chapter 18

Collection "Low gear"
Jul 2024 · 160
[ Tabriz: fine carpets ]
Zywa Jul 2024
Tabriz: fine carpets,

all over on the hillsides --


drying in the sun.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 2, chapter 15

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 278
[ Water is royal ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Water is royal:

a king without water falls --


apart into dust.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 1, and part 3, chapter 19

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 387
[ He is not a spy ]
Zywa Jun 2024
He is not a spy

and not a child, just silly --


with his secrecy.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 1

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 560
[ A sorcerer doesn't ]
Zywa Jun 2024
A sorcerer doesn't

need a wand or other stuff --


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

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 158
[ Taking a rash risk ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Taking a rash risk

after consideration --


may that be courage?
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 6

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 5.1k
[ She looks at me, puts ]
Zywa Jun 2024
She looks at me, puts

coquettishly in her eyes --


her whole soul again.
Story "De surprise" ("The surprise", 1968, Belcampo)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 60s and 70s"
Jun 2024 · 353
[ Watch out, everyone ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Watch out, everyone

is looking at us, our love --


must remain secret.
Song "You've got to hide your love away" (1965, John Lennon, The Beatles, album "Help!")

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 60s and 70s"
Jun 2024 · 224
[ My heart, aimlessly ]
Zywa Jun 2024
My heart, aimlessly

drifting in the foggy gloam --


is dreaming of love.
Poem "The city sneaks through foggy twilight", in the novel "Een tevreden lach" ("A happy smile", 1965, A. Burnier)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 60s and 70s"
Jun 2024 · 375
[ The city reflects ]
Zywa Jun 2024
The city reflects

my dream of love: weathered grey --


from all the waiting.
Poem "The city sneaks through foggy twilight", in the novel "Een tevreden lach" ("A happy smile", 1965, A. Burnier)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 60s and 70s"
Jun 2024 · 350
[ Follow love around ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Follow love around,

even though I don't want you --


or you flee from me.
Song "L'Amour s'en va" ("Love runs away", 1963, Françoise Hardy) - Eurovision song contest Grand Prix 1963, as representative of Monaco

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 60s and 70s"
Jun 2024 · 143
[ Please just let me be ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Please just let me be,

let me be an empty place --


filled with a loved one.
Poem "Een lege plek om te blijven" - XIV ("An empty place to stay" - XIV, 1974, Rutger Kopland)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 60s and 70s"
Jun 2024 · 247
[ The painting shows the ]
Zywa Jun 2024
The painting shows the

nation that is not yet there --


It's a creation.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 9

Collection "Low gear"
Zywa Jun 2024
Strange gods, they worship

over there, but their death will be --


just the same as ours.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 2, chapter 10

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 138
[ Oops, once invented ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Oops, once invented,

a god is inherently --


indestructible.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 6

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 95
[ Would religion be ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Would religion be

a mistake that people pass --


on to their children?
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 6

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 151
[ The city grows on ]
Zywa Jun 2024
The city grows on,

as if there were no workers --


but a magician.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 3

Fatehpur Sikri ('Victory City', near Agra), the capital of Emperor Abdul-Fath Jalaluddin 'Akbar' (= 'the Great' >> 'Akbar the Great')
The magically rapid growth of this city is also told in the novel "Victory City" (2023, Salman Rushdie)

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 174
[ The board of their game ]
Zywa Jun 2024
The board of their game

is the garden, with servants --


being the pieces.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 3 – Pachisi - at the court of Emperor Abdul-Fath Jalaluddin 'Akbar' (= 'the Great' >> 'Akbar the Great')

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 572
[ The highest ruler ]
Zywa Jun 2024
The highest ruler,

the self, is hungry, in need --


of beauty and love.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 2

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 265
[ Ow, my secret hurts ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Ow, my secret hurts,

it eats me, hollows me out --


Alive I am dead.
Novel "The Enchantress of Florence" (2008, Salman Rushdie), part 1, chapter 2 - Covert homosexuality

Collection "Low gear"
Jun 2024 · 219
[ The night is over ]
Zywa Jun 2024
The night is over,

I still dance in the café --


on the shards of glass.
Poem "Woensdag" - 4 ("Wednesday" - 4, 2010, Lieke Marsman)
Poem "Universele esthetiek" - 1 ("Universal aesthetics" - 1, 2021, Lieke Marsman)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 10s"
Zywa Jun 2024
I fold you flat, smooth

you and lay you in the days --


as my life anchor.
Poem "Perspectief" ("Perspective", 2017, Karim Schelkens)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 10s"
Jun 2024 · 210
[ The joyful crowd throws ]
Zywa Jun 2024
The joyful crowd throws

me into his arms, we laugh --


and then I lose him.
Song "La foule" ("The crowd", 1958, Michel Rivgauche, sung by Édith Piaf, music Ángel Cabral, 1936: the Peruvian waltz "Que nadie sepa mi sufrir" ["Let no one know my suffering"], text Enrique Dizeo)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 40s and 50s"
Jun 2024 · 458
[ I paid it, I swept ]
Zywa Jun 2024
I paid it, I swept

it away and forgot it --


for today's new day!
Song "Non, je ne regrette rien" ("No, I do not regret anything", 1956, Michel Vaucaire, sung by Édith Piaf, music Charles Dumont)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 40s and 50s"
Jun 2024 · 217
[ Your eyes speak so pure ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Your eyes speak so pure,

in a clear language, your head --


does not need a mouth.
Poem "Zuiver" ("Pure", 2013, Karin Lachmising)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 10s"
Zywa Jun 2024
This missed chance has closed

up my love for you, weighty --


as a grave cover.
Poem "unsent message" (2019, Emily Pavelich)

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 10s"
Jun 2024 · 206
[ He whinges, but I ]
Zywa Jun 2024
He whinges, but I

know he is lying, maybe --


that's rather funny.
Poetic fictional essay "The beauty of the husband" (2001, Anne Carson), Tango IV

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 0s"
Jun 2024 · 377
[ Your husband: rotate ]
Zywa Jun 2024
Your husband: rotate

him and look at him closely --


See what he's hiding.
Poetic fictional essay "The beauty of the husband" (2001, Anne Carson), Tango IV

Collection "Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the 0s"
Jun 2024 · 325
[ My teacher hits me ]
Zywa Jun 2024
My teacher hits me:

remember, blows, time and time --


poor people get hit.
Novel "Victory City" [Vijayanagar >> Bisnaga] (2023, Salman Rushdie), part 3: Glory, chapter 14

Collection "Low gear"
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