Then I heard the sound
of only one clapping hand --
and my cheek turned red.
Het geluid van één	Ich hörte eine
klappende hand hoorde ik --	einzelne Hand klatschen, rot --
en mijn wang werd rood.	wurde meine Haut.

Poem H0619
Amsterdam, 2013-10-09
Koan by Hakuin (Japan, 1686-1769)
Keywords: Reason: logic, Paradox / Koan 
Tribute to: Hakuin 

Born in light Born in light tasting what life is rolling and running full laughing most of all and the wheel turns the water around the earth surrounded by winds with clouds and the fire of the sun the wheel of beauty: the seasons bamboo shoots and blossoms all dying the fluttering flight of the skylark the wonders of the forest beavers reconstructing the brook a junebug on a journey over my leg and flying in my hand which I close and open again the smells of vegetable being cooked moss and steaming dew mushrooms in autumn the village in the winter months when the stoves burn the wheel of my life my kids, my work the colours of my clothes and from my hands the healing voice of seven long strings

Poem 1047
Amsterdam, 2017-02-20
The tale of the princess Kaguya (Isao Takahata) - 2013
Traditional stry
Film "Kaguyahime no monogatari"
Keyword: Lifestream (follow) 
Tribute to: Takahata, Isao 

Closing of the day Swimming until we're tired Lying in the grass Under the trees Sahring the sweet taste of cherries, water sun, and flowers Doing my work Having time For each other Experiencing what's happening what we feel Going on Not dwelling On our happiness

Poem 1433
Amsterdam, 2017-07-12
Keywords: Happiness (connection), Experience 

Ignorantly intelligent Red hair, big eyes, with her astonishment, I look at the history of conflict and incapacity - love romantically appearing out of the blue and saving the people of good will in this movie, after the failure of reason, love that is more than the laws of nature, which, intelligently designed or not, run their amoral course Yes, call it love but just only if you willfully and knowingly act aware of the situation, of good, evil and better Yes, then it is love but that young woman has no idea what she ever started as Supreme Being though in the end she will know, after everything has happened as it could

Poem 1540
Amsterdam, 2017-09-08
The fifth element (Luc Besson) - 1997
Film
Keyword: Love: Give To Be 
Tribute to: Besson, Luc 

Snips Stargazers and physicists pushed the boundaries, they hid God behind the universe, the multiple one Knowledge made man smaller Only an exceptional person can be great l'uomo universale, the multiple one I don't have that many sides The world is falling past me, snipped up like confetti, however much I do my best to tie it all together into a coherent net and to conform me to the intelligence of the multiple, as soul of its soul, flesh of its flesh blood of its blood

Poem 1541
Amsterdam, 2017-09-10
Keywords: Awareness: connection, Universe: all 

Half-light Alone, in the empty movie theatre between the carpets my eyes in half-light closed, back and thighs firmly in the chair travelling through the buzzing space of busy traffic of merging and outgoing in the distance and somewhere a song slides by - familiar emotions on exits without a destination going around the network of roads Therefore and because no one would remember the song it points out, in half-light, only half the way, but this does not matter in the one universe of the journey

Poem 1609
Amsterdam, 2017-11-08
Keywords: Feelings (emotion), Life: course (on the way) 

Akin After his death we talk My warmth searches for bridges and contact across the emptiness Rituals are too cold for my soul I want to be closer in the underflow of being there, feel and receive together the confidence that we will reroot balanced side by side You are where you were in the middle of the circle next to the open space which we preserve for beloved flowers to bloom

Poem 1633
Amsterdam, 2017-11-25
Keyword: Comfort (consolation) 
Dedicated to: Ineke J 

Human galaxy:
revolving disorderly --
everyone's a sun.
Het mensenstelsel:	Das Menschsystem: um-
kriskras door elkaar draaiend --	einander drehen, jeder --
is ieder een zon.	eine Sonne sein.

Poem H1913
Amsterdam, 2017-12-20
Keyword: Mankind 

The spirit: of a
flower, of mankind, the earth --
can be inspiring.
De geest: van een bloem,	Der Geist: der Blumen,
van de mensheid, de aarde --	der Menschheit und der Erde --
is inspirerend.	ist inspirierend.

Poem H1953
Amsterdam, 2018-01-02
Keywords: Religion: connection, Spirit / Ghost(s) 

Life is smelling, it's
tasting, seeing, and being --
able to respond.
Leven is ruiken,	Leben ist riechen,
proeven en zien, en weten --	und schmecken, und sehen, und --
antwoord te geven.	antworten können.

Poem H1967
Amsterdam, 2018-01-10
Keywords: Body: and mind, Together: interaction 

Trinity Another day of manoeuvring in the holy triangle of languor, passion and harmony In my blood, lethargy is floating lazily along banks and jetties It lies down in the signal boxes of my muscles and mood as the prey of the fighters who ignore the night to make a party of my life, now or never to participate, out of desire for happiness that is short-lived

Poem 1645
Amsterdam, 2018-01-15
- Being slow, sometimes careless, and maintain what is there (tamas)
- Being active, from passion, and change something (rajas)
- Being in harmony, which gives joy (sattva)
Keyword: Balance (natural) 

No one is alone,
mankind's soul is home for you --
Welcome, namasté.
Niemand is alleen,	Du bist zu Hause,
de mensziel is ook jouw thuis --	in der Seele der Menschheit --
Welkom, namasté.	Grüße, Namasté.

Poem H1988
Zandvoort aan Zee, 2018-01-29
Keywords: Mankind, Soul 

City on the hill,
in between heaven and earth --
a port by the sea.
Stad op de heuvel,	Stadt auf dem Hügel,
tussen hemel en aarde --	zwischen Himmel und Erde --
een haven aan zee.	ein Hafen am Meer.

Poem H2312
Amsterdam, 2018-11-04
Keyword: Balance (middle, yin-yang) 

The jellyfish in
the sea are terrestrial --
flying saucers, right?
De kwallen in zee	Die Quallen im Meer
zijn aards, zijn echte aardse --	sind irdische fliegende --
vliegende schotels?	Untertassen, was?

Poem H2331
Amsterdam, 2018-12-03
Erik Steven Johnson (Monterey, California) is active on AllPoetry.com
Keyword: Animals: jellyfish 
Dedicated to: Johnson, Erik Steven 

Escape-room The king has the key to the locks on the outside and that is precisely the problem for that king is me locked up in this pyramid It's a koan and it's not funny Desperately I shout answers in the dark, groping I stumble on and at last the door opens to another dark room so Vantablack that depth disappears I am blind, too tired to cry I sit down, lie down in a fantasised sarcophagus - buried in myself, sinking out of my consciousness

Poem 2187
Amsterdam, 2019-03-30
Koan ("public matter") = a riddle that gives insight into life
Keywords: Human: individuals, World(view) 

People act normal,
but the birds fly up, now that --
the sky turns yellow.
Mensen doen gewoon,	Alles ist normal,
maar de vogels vliegen op --	die Vögel fliegen auf, so --
zo geel kleurt de lucht.	gelb wird der Himmel.

Poem H2559
Amsterdam, 2019-08-31
Health Care Centre of Our Lady, location East, ward B8
Keyword: Flying: bird, bird of prey 

The revolving stars
run their show in outer space --
without a juggler.
Sterren draaien rond	Die Sterne drehen
in de show van het heelal --	in der Show des Weltalls --
zonder een jongleur.	ohne ein Jongleur.

Poem H2604
Amsterdam, 2019-11-10
Keyword: Universe: energy 

My things keep quiet,
they are absent in my home --
till I pick them up.
Al mijn spullen thuis	Sie halten sich still,
houden zich stil, afwezig --	die Sachen sind abwesend --
tot ik ze oppak.	bis ich sie nehme.

Poem H2634
Amsterdam, 2019-11-26
Keyword: Usual / Normal 

Brain waves Doing a lot gives a lot It does not matter whether you use muscles or just smell or listen Doing a lot gives a lot to think about,it bounces thoughts around between should, want and can or it crawls from image to image until your worn body rests and your mind stands still, at most making an inventory of old information where the indexes are still legible and ruminating what has been stored there

Poem 2523
Amsterdam, 2019-12-01
Keywords: Brain, Old age: tardiness 

Around the sun I
soul, and I am hot and cold --
within my balance.
Ik ziel om de zon	Ich seele um die
en ik heb het heet en koud --	Sonne, mir ist heiß und kalt --
in mijn evenwicht.	in dem Gleichgewicht.

Poem H2686
Amsterdam, 2020-04-13
Keyword: Balance (keep) 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 

He's a man, a life:
Mifune-san has achieved --
nothing, everything.
Een man, een leven:	Ein Mann, ein Leben:
Mifune-san, Toshiro --	Mifune-san, Toshiro --
Niets bereikt. Alles.	Nichts erreicht. Alles.

Poem H2699
Amsterdam, 2020-05-07
The perfection of total dedication, even if everything continues as if it doesn't matter
Keyword: Time: temporality 
Tribute to: Mifune, Toshiro 

In all its colours,
life keeps unfolding in us --
deep within our soul.
In al zijn kleuren	Das Leben faltet
plooit het leven zich in ons --	Farben in unsren Augen --
diep in onze ziel.	in unsrer Seele.

Poem H3057
Amsterdam, 2021-10-07
Baby (Gustav Klimt) - 1917
Painting of a baby in the cradle
At the birth of Harper Elizabeth Engwerda on September 14th, 2021
Keywords: Body: functioning, Psyche, Soul 
Tribute to: Klimt, Gustav 

White soul My heart knows no stopping it pulls through within the trinity of time from the green beginning of my fate, getting myself on my feet with passion and jumping back into the stream of experiences swimming a stroke every now and then, drifting along a little and letting a lot pass by beauty and cruelty waves of feelings and caresses of life under the foam of my consciousness the white soul of time

Poem 4002
Amsterdam, 2021-10-09
- The red passion and will, nature's dynamic lust for life (rajas)
- The green body, nature's structure (tamas)
- The white soul, the balanced whole of nature (sattva)
Keyword: Life: experience 

Drinking with the neighbours The sun is a diver in the west, unreachable for the moon with hair colouring red from desire And red colour the grapes in the valley with the lighthouses along the swamp river in the country in the middle between pole and equator The days are short With the neighbours we drink last year's wine dark as the nights The moon kisses the sun out of his sleep, kisses him kisses, kisses him back We celebrate, treat each other at togetherness Choirs pass from door to door and we eat pastries

Poem 4285
Amsterdam, 2022-01-03
Endymion = Diver
Selene (the moon), drawn with red hair, is the name of a wine from Recas (near Timisoara)
Thib = swamp >> Timis (river) >> Timis-oara (Timis-castle)
Keyword: Neighbourhood 
Dedicated to: Adina M 

Friendship, enjoying
working together, then, now --
a magical time.
Vriendschap, met plezier	Zusammenarbeit,
samenwerken, toen en nu --	Freundschaft, damals und heute --
een magische tijd.	magische Zeiten.

Poem H4400
Amsterdam, 2023-12-26
Keyword: Friendship: action 
Dedicated to: Hans J, Carla B 

You can't say farewell
to a friend, you can only --
do that in your mind.
Van een vriend kun je	Von einem Freund kann
geen afscheid nemen, hoogstens --	man sich nicht verabschieden --
in je gedachten.	nur in Gedanken.

Poem H5053
Amsterdam, 2024-11-09
Keyword: Friendship: bond 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 

In the dim twilight
of the temple my mind finds --
only emptiness.
In het schemerlicht	Im trüben Zwielicht
van de tempel vindt mijn geest --	des stillen Tempels findet --
alleen maar leegte.	mein Geist nur Leere.

Poem S2475
Amsterdam, 2024-12-12
Keywords: Religion: sanctuary, Meditation 

You experience
it when you look at the stars:
there is peace on earth.
Je ervaart het 's nachts	Du erlebst es nachts,
als je naar de sterren kijkt:	wenn du in die Sterne schaust:
vrede op aarde.	Frieden auf Erden.

Poem H5145
Amsterdam, 2024-12-25
For Christel H, Benny, Quinn Olivia and Emmelie B
Keyword: Peace: order 
Dedicated to: Christel H 

The sun gives only
little light, so the shadow --
of the earth is night.
Zo weinig licht geeft	Die Sonne gibt so
de zon, dat de schaduw van --	wenig Licht, dass der Schatten --
de aarde nacht is.	der Erde Nacht ist.

Poem H5156
Amsterdam, 2025-01-03
Keywords: Sun: light, white light, Earth: planet 

The birthday candles
cast a spell on the cake and --
our happy faces.
Verjaardagskaarsjes	Geburtstagskerzen
betoveren de taart en --	verzaubern die Torte und --
onze gezichten.	unsre Gesichter.

Poem H5413
Amsterdam, 2025-04-26
With a photo of Lotte and Madelief (Grossdietwil, August 25th, 2023)


Keyword: Party: social 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK 

Waking up, first you
realise where you are, then --
how you are doing.
Wakker worden, eerst	Aufwachen, zuerst
beseffen waar je bent, dan --	erkennen wo man ist, dann --
hoe het met je gaat.	wie es einem geht.

Poem H5424
Amsterdam, 2025-05-02
With a photo of Dory (April 19th, 2015, Vaison-la-Romaine)


Keyword: Awareness: reality 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Dory dK 

Homeliness: being
in familiar company --
your natural self.
Huiselijkheid: in	Häuslichkeit ist: in
vertrouwd gezelschap vanzelf --	vertrauter Gesellschaft man --
jezelf kunnen zijn.	selbst sein zu können.

Poem H5427
Amsterdam, 2025-05-02
Our house (Graham Nash / CSNY) - 1970
With a photo of Paul reading at the table with cat Lily next to the book (November 16th, 2009, Vaison-la-Romaine)
Song "Our house" (1970, Graham Nash, sung by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, album "Déjà vu")


Keyword: Love: intimacy (close relationship) 
Tribute to: Nash, Graham 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Paul J 

Thoughts travel far in
people far away and in --
people close to us.
Gedachten maken	Gedanken reisen
verre reizen in verre --	sehr weit in entfernte und --
en naaste mensen.	in nahe Menschen.

Poem H5430
Amsterdam, 2025-05-03
With a photo of Dory and Paul in a Zodiac Beam machine (for the Feast of Saint Nicholas, December 4th, 1988, Leksmondhof, Amsterdam)


Keywords: Fantasy: empathy, Knowledge: thoughts 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Dory dK, Paul J 

In a safe, open
society everyone --
has an open face.
In een veilige,	In Gesellschaften,
open maatschappij zie je --	sicher und offen, sind die --
open gezichten.	Gesichter offen.

Poem H5441
Amsterdam, 2025-05-05
With a photo of Dory and Paul with a face mask due to Covid-19 (May 13th, 2020, Staringstraat, Amsterdam)
Openness: no risk of infection, no masked thugs, and no religious obligation to wear a face veil (niqab)


Keywords: Together: society, Covid-19, Openness 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Dory dK, Paul J 

Only in the lap
of relaxation and warmth --
babies fall asleep.
Alleen in de schoot	Nur im warmen Schoß
van ontspanning en warmte --	spannungsfreier Zuwendung --
slapen baby's in.	schlafen Babys ein.

Poem H5485
Amsterdam, 2025-05-21
With a photo of Lotte on Paul's lap, one month after her birth (February 19th, 2012, Grossdietwil)


Keywords: Child: baby, Safety: security / comfort 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Paul J 

Yeah, grandpa, you know,
it's really not that easy --
Well, it just depends.
Ja, opa, weet je,	Ja Opa, weißt du,
dat is zo makkelijk niet --	das ist gar nicht so einfach --
Het ligt er maar aan.	Es kommt darauf an.

Poem H5499
Amsterdam, 2025-05-24
With a photo of Madelief taken during a video call (June 1st, 2014, Grossdietwil)


Keywords: Family: grandma / grandpa, Reality 

At times my head is
half black, and I have to search --
for thoughts for a while.
Soms is mijn hoofd half	Manchmal ist mein Kopf
zwart, moet ik even zoeken --	halb schwarz, muss ich suchen nach --
naar mijn gedachten.	meinen Gedanken.

Poem H5504
Amsterdam, 2025-05-24
With a photo of Madelief taken during a video call (December 25th, 2014, Grossdietwil)


Keyword: Thinking (order) 

Nature waves fresh green
in the wind, oxygen breathes --
all over the earth.
De natuur wuift groen	Die Welt weht grün im
in de wind, zuurstof ademt --	Wind, Sauerstoff atmet um --
heel de aarde om.	die ganze Erde.

Poem H5521
Amsterdam, 2025-05-28
With a photo of Paul in Leijpark (1963, Tilburg)


Keywords: Earth: biosphere, Breath 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Paul J 

Music always finds
a sounding board: wind or bridge --
to new listeners.
Muziek vindt altijd	Musik hat immer
een klankbord: een wind of brug --	einen Korpus: Wind, Brücke --
naar nieuwe oren.	zu neuen Ohren.

Poem H5530
Amsterdam, 2025-05-29
With a photo of the marching band on a bridge (June 25th, 2022, Jacob van Lennepkanaal, Amsterdam)


Keywords: Music: vibration, AmsterdamF, Bridge 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK 

To be a guest of
heavyweights, on the highlands --
of milk and honey.
Bij zwaargewichten	Bei Schwergewichten
te gast zijn, in het hoogland --	zu Gast, auf dem Hochland, wo --
van melk en honing.	Milch und Honig fließt.

Poem H5535
Amsterdam, 2025-05-30
Exodus 03:08
Numeri 14:07-08
With a photo of Dory on a path with Swiss cows (May 9th, 2010, Wirsweli) - 'Swiss' are brown cattle (10 times Dory's body weight)
Exodus 3:8 'to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites'
Numbers 14:7-8 'The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land, a land which floweth with milk and honey'


Keywords: Animals: cow / bull / bison / ox, Bible 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Dory dK 

We are connected,
therefore we can share in each --
other's successes.
We zijn verbonden,	Wir sind verbunden,
daarom kunnen we delen --	und können den Erfolg des --
in elkaars succes.	anderen teilen.

Poem H5564
Amsterdam, 2025-06-01
With a photo of Dory at a painting exhibition by Paul (June 7th, 1987, Nijmegen)


Keyword: Together: feelings 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Dory dK, Paul J 

Disruption In the resonance I hear the world bend Echoes in the night It's haunted, I look inside Something is changing And it's changing forever A warm rain falls In a disruption gates appear I catch my breath In and out, in and out I ground myself in more than the ground beneath me, I ground myself in the light

Poem 5686
Amsterdam, 2025-10-08
The See Within (Echo Collective) - 2020
Music album
Keyword: Awareness: connection 
Tribute to: Echo Collective 

Corporate Body What, somewhere, a colleague needs in order not to get stuck in dilemmas asked or noticed by another, the big heart that nourishes us in the symbiosis of man and earth the cooperation of companies in the world, arranges - our Ubuntu, focused on our survival and a good life for our grandchildren without piracy and colonialism - the big heart that is assisted by the Social Directorate

Poem 5841
Amsterdam, 2026-01-26
Doing Good - How Ethical Capitalism Can Save Democracy (Markus Gabriel) - 2024
Philosophical book "Gutes Tun - Wie der ethische Kapitalismus die Demokratie retten kann" (2024, "Doing Good - How Ethical Capitalism Can Save Democracy", Markus Gabriel)
Encyclical Laudato Si' (Praised Be To You, 2015, Pope Francis): Humanity is not the steward of the earth, but part of it. The earth is humanity's common home, which must be restored after human encroachment of the earth and neglect of poverty (the poor are the most affected by bad policies)
The SD (Social Directorate) consists of CHO (Chief Humanity Officers)
Keywords: Harmony: cooperation, Earth: biosphere 
Tribute to: Gabriel, Markus; Franciscus (RK Papa) 

Grandma knows medi-
cinal herbs, well, in the past --
she would have been burned.
Oma kent kruiden	Oma kennt viele
tegen ziektes, tja, vroeger --	Heilkräuter, na ja, früher --
zou ze verbrand zijn.	wäre sie verbrannt.

Poem H6119
Amsterdam, 2026-02-27
Keywords: Family: grandma / grandpa, Womanly (witch) 

Poem 6003
Amsterdam, 2026-04-30
Night Guide (Marjolijn van Heemstra) - 2025
Novel "Nachtgids", paragraph 15
Keyword: Manly (dominance) 
Tribute to: Van Heemstra, Marjolijn 

A flowering shrub
at the monastery gate:
butterflies greet me.
Een bloeiende struik	Ein blühender Strauch
slingert om de kloosterpoort --	windet sich am Klostertor --
vlinders groeten mij.	Falter grüßen mich.

Poem H0373
Amsterdam, 2012-10-25
Keywords: Flying: butterfly / moth, Spring 

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