In each other's eyes,

floating in each other's eyes --


floating together.


In elkaars ogen,,
drijven in elkaars ogen --schwimmen in deinen Augen --
drijven in elkaar.zusammen schwimmen.

Poem H0002
Amsterdam, 2003-11-03

Keyword: Love: bond 
 

The rompy tomboy:

a belly with arms and legs --


dancing in the grass.


De spring-in-'t-veld:
met armen en benen danst --und Beinen: die Springinsfeld --
haar buik door de wei.tanzt durch die Wiese.

Poem H0003
Amsterdam, 2003-11-14

Keyword: Childhood 
 

On my long journey

I am living in my thoughts --


of the love we share.


Op mijn lange reis
woon ik in mijn gedachten --wohne ich in Gedanken --
aan onze liefde.an meine Liebe.

Poem H0009
Amsterdam, 2011-11-18

Keyword: Love: bond 
 

Such beautiful eyes

my teacher has, I use them --


to look at myself.


Zo'n mooie ogen
heeft mijn leraar, ik leen ze --mein Lehrer hat, ich leih sie --
om mijzelf te zien.um mich zu sehen.

Poem H0188
De Cocksdorp, 2012-01-31

Keyword: Self-knowledge (attention) 
Dedicated to: Kristien vR 
 

The little plant bends

with the sun and the wind, blooms --


as much as it can.


Het plantje buigt mee
met de zon en de wind, bloeit --mit der Sonne und dem Wind --
zoveel als het kan.blüht so viel sie kann.

Poem H0198
Amsterdam, 2012-02-09

Keywords: Nature: plants, Life: survival (reflex) 
 

Mum pays attention

and knows what I am doing --


She can borrow eyes.


Mama ziet alles
wat ik doe, ze let op mij --was ich tue, sie passt auf --
en leent soms ogen.oder leiht Augen.

Poem H0248
Amsterdam, 2012-03-27

Keyword: Parents: mother(hood) 
 

Love, that's us right now:

breathing in each other's arms --


and in the same rhythm.


Liefde, dat zijn wij:
in elkaars armen gelijkliegen uns in den Armen --
op ademhalend.und wir atmen gleich.

Poem H0322
Amsterdam, 2012-07-19

Parent and child / Love couple
Keywords: Love: harmony, Breath 
 

They flutter a bit,

the newly born butterflies --


guessing at flowers.


Ze fladderen wat,,
de pasgeboren vlinders --die neue Schmetterlinge --
radend naar bloemen.ratend nach Blumen.

Poem H0329
Amsterdam, 2012-07-31

Keywords: Teenager (youth), Flying: butterfly / moth 
 

I kiss you because

I am free with you because --


your love does know me.


Ik kus jou omdat
ik vrij ben bij jou omdatich mit dir frei bin, weil du --
jouw liefde mij kent.mich liebevoll kennst.

Poem H0547
Amsterdam, 2013-08-11

Keyword: Love: Give To Be 
 

My love smiles at me,

he is good to me, he doesn't --


need to be better.


Mijn lief lacht mij toe,,
hij is goed voor mij, beter --er ist gut zu mir, er muss --
hoeft hij niet te zijn.gar nicht besser sein.

Poem H0576
Amsterdam, 2013-09-27

My love lies in the hospital
Keyword: Love: care 
 

Zywa The first time

When the child was playing outside
without mum and dad

without anyone, by itself
with a bee and the blow-ball

of a dandelion
there were horses too

further out in the meadow
it said aloud to love:

How many we are!
Looking around in delight

with a deep sigh
without wishing anything

that was not there, the child cried out
with wide arms: Yes!

The horses pricked up their ears
and indeed, love was there:

they felt it in their hooves
they breathed it in, and out

and all their skin began to glow
Excited they looked at each other

Do you feel, do you feel it? she blew
Yes it's wonderful, he whinnied

It is awesome! they all
snorted and stamped

The foals were hopping around them
For them, it was the first time

Poem 1148
Amsterdam, 2017-03-07

Keyword:  
 

Zywa Happy dog

I am a happy dog
delivering wishes in Baghdad
on the commission of the doctors

of love. They are so rich!

I taste the wishes of the notes
in my mouth, they are to whine
sometimes – then, along the way

I am a whining dog in Baghdad

With my head held high, I lie down:
here is the post! I gasp and slurp
water, I am happy

Poem 1470
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

A happy dog from Baghdad (Halim al Karim) - 2002
Wall art work
Keywords: Wish(es), Iraq 
Tribute to: Al Karim, Halim 
 

Zywa Sweet is your skin

I stroke you, stroke you, you are nice
I pick you in this paradise
oh juicy velvet sugar pear
so sweet is your hair
sweet is your hair

Yes, this is love, it is concrete
here in your hands I am complete
with your embrace as finest dress
so sweet is your caress
sweet is your caress

You touch me
you charge me with a thunderbolt
you kiss me
your honey moon and marigold
just by itself
I give myself
to all your warmth and I unfold

From top to toe, you set me free
you make me beautiful, you make me be
your love is deep within, deep in me
radiating from your skin
oh sweet is your skin
sweet is your skin

Poem 1475
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

Wild is the wind (Nina Simone) - 1966
Song (1957, lyrics Ned Washington)
Keyword: Desire (craving, lust) 
Tribute to: Simone, Nina 
 

Zywa In the sweet smell of summer flowers

My parents are away, we can go
to bed, but not even with an excuse

do I dare to go in the direction
of my room with you

or take your hand without
saying anything, because

do you want it too, and what face
should I have? That's why

a whole line of neighbours are our witnesses
that we let fly the thought of naked kisses

and lightly floating in love
With full attention

we alternately strike it off
playing badminton

in the sweet smell of summer flowers

Poem 1477
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

Badminton (Judith Herzberg) - 2013
Gedicht (collection "liever brieven")
Keyword: Teenager (uncertainty) 
Tribute to: Herzberg, Judith 
 

Zywa Love is now

Love is now
it does not measure with the past

Love is timeless
it knows neither profit nor loss

Love is precious
it does not wrong anyone

Love is nonviolent
it does not harm anyone

Love is free
it does not hope for later

Love is now

Poem 1478
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

Keyword: Love: is all 
 

Zywa Your

It's your eyes
     but even more
it's your sleeping body
     against my chest or my back
it's the very beauty
     of your desire
     when you get up
it's your smell
     that almost isn't there
     and most of all
it's your hands
     that take care of me
     in between making me
     inconspicuously feel
     under my clothes
     that it is true

Poem 1479
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

Keyword: Desire (craving, lust) 
 

Zywa Magic garden

Waking up together
under the soft-coloured
life in the round window

The green youth
of the world garden
unfathomable deep

in the mirror
of an old well
filled with magic

above which we, here
below, are on a soft bed
floating in happiness

Waking up together
on the Dream Mountain
above the days

Poem 1480
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

Guest room Strix on the Dream Mountain (Gurten, Bern)
Also after a photo by Jan Keijzer

Keywords: Dream(s), Schweiz 
Dedicated to: Jan K 
 

Zywa Priestess greeting bull

Stay where you are and wait
let the girls greet
the sky and kiss the earth
for there is peace in green

our temple of love, wherever
we prefer to be
in our eyes big and round
the whole world does fit. Look

I made myself beautiful for you
again, I swept colours of grass
on my shiny skin, rubbed
a blush on heels and knees

But wait until we receive you
look at us and enjoy
that we see you, who you are
your strength, and your desire

Poem 1481
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

After a photo by Jan Keijzer
Keyword: Womanly 
Dedicated to: Jan K 
 

Zywa Sweet whispers

At last in love again, wonderful
My girlfriend keeps asking
to filter out my pink

and to compare him critically
with the man of my dreams
but I leave to her the sober

and boring plainness
I prefer sweet whispers
and secret kisses

open me to spread fragrances
stretch me towards his eyes
and nestle me in the wind

of his stories, catch
life in full sail, endure
storms, cleave the waves

with double frames

Poem 1483
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

Ribs: the transverse frames of a ship Double ribs: of man and woman (Eva), which makes the hull extra strong
Keyword: In love:  
 

Zywa The play

Tonight we solemnly celebrate
The Beginning, the screaming

afterlife of the day, the mysterious
play of being desired
as for the first time

be seen
in new shoes, laugh with new eyes

at decency and the people
who tell what to fear and how
love should be

the gentle hand
that moulds my body, the swift one

that completes it in heaven, and the
mighty one that sows the earth in me
and always

be important
to you, holding your beauty

in my caressing hands
in nights from which I wake up in amazement
pregnant of happiness

the magic of attention
that coddles me and makes me laugh

as long as we live in the same world
and then lie silently together because
it cannot be explained

Poem 1493
Amsterdam, 2017-08-08

In Eleusis the "orgia" (holy acts) represented life in the hereafter
Keyword: Love: intimacy (physical) 
 

Zywa Undressed by beauty

Along the Lost Cost Quay
the cargo ships are almost drowning
while we party

in Oslo and Ghent, you dance
sparks from the floor, you dance
the delicate velvet petals

up, let them float
and return to the flower
Your shirt falls open

just enough to wish
for more, for no reason
just to experience

the lovely wonder of feeling
what I feel, myself, as if
your beauty is undressing me

Poem 1494
Amsterdam, 2017-08-08

Kyakura, the returned flower
Cafés "Oslo" and "Ghent" at the Kostverlorenkade ("Lost Cost Quay") in Amsterdam

Keyword: In love:  
 

Zywa Chilchliflue

It's a tradition, an old superstition
the night is hot
we'll go and do it
as soon as everyone is asleep
we sneak out of the house

leaving our husbands
as to take a pee

It is not far to the rock
with the flat stripe of white
In the light of the moon
we pee indeed
with laughter

while undressing for the picture
because we want to have proof

We slide our butt warm
over the pale strip in the middle
of the Chilchliflue. Landed
in the grass we feel

with each other

for the beginning
of a baby in our belly

Poem 1495
Amsterdam, 2017-08-08

Glacial erratic boulder in Steinhof (Solothurn)
Fluh = boulder

Keywords: Pregnancy, Schweiz 
 

Zywa Shall we

You are in doubt, yet
you ask me: shall we?

I imagine it already is
in the way, I think

it will be, with these and those
pros and cons and question marks

I close my eyes to feel it
and to know what I would answer

if you thén would ask me: shall we
now again just like then?

Poem 1496
Amsterdam, 2017-08-08

Keyword: Love: surrender 
 

Zywa Orange man

I know it by the lovely days
of firm, busty glasses
of beer and the relieving pee

the sharpening of the knives
after the slaughter and cleaning
my nails standing at the skewer

going to bed without throwing up
strong like a bull, indestructible
inside, a precise mechanism

in a firm, supple skin:
an orange man I am
a male orang-orange

somewhere nowhere in the Fields
between the castles, in a village
without statue and fire brigade

but with you, orange woman
your sun-seeking body, every new day
embraced and singed by my love

Poem 1499
Amsterdam, 2017-08-08

A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess) - 1962
The exterior side of humans is organic like an orange, their inside is a mechanism
Campos (Fields) in Castile (Castles)
Book "La naranja mecánica" (1962, Anthony Burgess)

Keyword: Manly (aggression) 
Tribute to: Burgess, Anthony 
Dedicated to: Reinier B 
 

Zywa To you

Lightning above the city
I want to go home, to you
love is blowing

through the trees
it flushes into the gutter
flies sometimes

with restrained breath
somewhere inside
where it's welcome

to be ready
in a dream
stronger than worries

and it lightens
frightens people
(sometimes makes them wise)

it protects me
brings me home
and touches me

Poem 1500
Amsterdam, 2017-08-08

Keyword: Love: bond 
Dedicated to: Peter H 
 

Zywa Come

Come against my chest: I open up
my ribs, navel, and belly. Breathe
in me, lay down on my warm heart

I embrace you, emlimb you. Disappear
in my love my love, let yourself go
in pleasure, do with me. Evaporate

with me, then we will return
for one more time. Fold yourself in
me, fold your wings my angel

then we go to sleep together
in the heaven of our sweat
Come again, my great love

Poem 1501
Amsterdam, 2017-08-08

Keyword: Desire (craving, lust) 
Dedicated to: Reinier B 
 

Zywa Only everything

If I only have love
when I meet you
I have everything

to exist
to say
and be safe

If I am love
I bear death
and the pain, my tears

flow around
the world and together
we can be happy

Poem 1506
Amsterdam, 2017-08-09

When you only have love (Jacques Brel) - 1956
Song "Quand on n'a que l'amour"
Keyword: Love: is all 
Tribute to: Brel, Jacques 
 

Zywa I promise you

I promise you
not to build mountains of gold
on weak ground, I promise you
no lifelong love
out of blind lust

I promise you
no great deeds
but sincere ones
to do what I can
to be who I am

that is: your
wisdom when you're angry
defence wall around your fear
hand under your head
nest for your sorrow

I am your
understanding answer
mountain with a view
double joy
and other side

I am your
well-doing bath
together at the table
bed to sleep in
love to your toes

Poem 1507
Amsterdam, 2017-08-09

That mountain will be built (Thijs Zonneveld) - 2011
In August 2011 Thijs Zonneveld published on the news site nu.nl the column "That mountain will be built" about building a 2 km high mountain in Flevoland; the idea was abandoned in 2015-2016
Keyword: Love: Give To Be 
Tribute to: Zonneveld, Thijs 
 

Zywa But our love

Skyscrapers collapse
Giant boulders are pebbles
to ice shove, castles
and temples do not stand

under anxious and angry violence
Every fear perishes
by itself, it cannot continue
connecting, and it splits itself

Laws are broken
but not the love
in which we live, free
from the chaos

taking space
for its own convenience
taking more and more world
but not our love

Poem 1508
Amsterdam, 2017-08-09

Marble, stone and iron breaks (Günter Loose) - 1965
History of Humanity on Earth
Song "Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht" (1965, lyrics Günter Loose, sung by Drafi Deutscher)

Keyword: Love: bond 
Tribute to: Loose, Günter; Deutscher, Drafi 
 

Zywa To heaven

We hop to heaven
With us, that's the hundred, three
houses ahead, but throwing is allowed
from any lower zero

A game lasts all day
with breaks when mother comes
to treat us on a rug
beside the track, telling stories

of swimming in the inner bend
of the river and the tough boys
tapping the ships for the fastest
sitting down on her, dripping

and threatening to drown her
if she would tell - no, no
she promised, sure as she was a virgin
and she sealed it with a kiss, and

one more if she liked the boy
Dad was the sweetest: she held him
just as long, until he fell on her
turned red and did not dare to get up

Poem 1509
Amsterdam, 2017-08-09

Keyword: Love: play 
 

Zywa Two trees in the woods

The four of us cycle
to the woods, not that far
We split at the junction

Arne knows the path, he points:
further on there is an open space
let's go, there are two trees

with a kink in the trunk
The last piece we walk
and wheel the bikes

We could have sat down
at the path, but he wanted
to go here, for no reason

You see? That's all he says
He falls over backwards
and looks up all the time

Nothing will come of this - two trees
in the woods – so I just tell him
that I have to go home

Poem 1510
Amsterdam, 2017-08-09

The trees (Albert Alberts) - 1953
Novella "De bomen"
Keyword: In love: unanswered 
Tribute to: Alberts, Albert 
 

Zywa Love is never

Love is never a wall
covered inside
with cushions and a view
of barbed wire

Love is never a wall
around concealed wishes
a weak spot, a secret
shame or a holy duty

Love is climbing over walls
without solutions
never dislodged drunk
with faith, hope, or dreams

Love is never unbelieving
desperate or unimaginative
and other symptoms
of death

Poem 1518
Amsterdam, 2017-08-17

Keyword: Love: Give To Be 
 

Our love, we: changing

and still the same in being --


and giving to be.


Onze liefde, wij:,
veranderd en hetzelfde --wir: anders und gleich im Sein --
in zijn en doen zijn.und zu Sein geben.

Poem H2015
Zandvoort aan Zee, 2018-02-02

Keyword: Love: bond (lively) 
 

You are beautiful,

like all the other people --


I get to know well.


Liefste, jij bent mooi,,
net als de anderen die --wie die anderen, die ich --
ik goed leer kennen.gut kennenlerne.

Poem H2064
Amsterdam, 2018-04-18

Keyword: Attention: for someone 
 

Zywa Secret code

Possibility, chance, no coincidence
fate or god, but the outcome
of the self-learning program

in our heads, the decisions
lay already enclosed within us
as our future, our path

You came down the stairs
stopped in the hall
and looked at me

called unexpectedly
lovingly my name
said you

will get mail from me:
the promise that bound me
during your holiday

I looked for a secret code
in the text on your cards
and only found my longing

Poem 1746
Amsterdam, 2018-05-03

Keyword: Love: communication 
Dedicated to: Dory dK 
 

Zywa Foreignly intimate

It was a narrow and dim place
his hand and arm brushed
skin over my skin

familiar and pleasant
as my love's:

how foreign is a foreigner
in an unguarded moment?

How many people could I
be intimate with if...

What differences turn people
into enemies, if it's not a problem
to be loved

by someone you don't know –
as if your eyes were closed

to prejudices, obstacles
and complicated circumstances

that don't stop anyone
who is young and in love

Poem 1902
Amsterdam, 2018-11-10

Keyword: Foreigners: meet 
 

Zywa In a wonderful way

There she lies, desouled
in the arms of a man
drifted away in the delight

he passed on to me
my skin intimately
tense everywhere, focused

all my nerves, automatical
the response of the animal
of my muscles

to the animal of his lust
which devoured me, sex
is dying in a wonderful way

if I dare, not fly away
spiritually, for fear of the tiger
that is about to devour me alive

I see myself lying
in the arms of my man
Up here, I'm safe

I'm still alive

Poem 1895
Amsterdam, 2018-11-19

Tiger (Carole Sheehan) - 2018
Poem
Keyword: Love: intimacy (physical) 
Tribute to: Sheehan, Carole 
 

Zywa Some like it rough

Love does not have to be
lovely all the time, they say
if you keep rough and soft
balanced
and use your imagination

We do it
we love
fantastic films
with a little horror
deep gorges, high mountains
the pleasant begging
for more more, for
a happy ending

We are nice and easy
they say, and we are
but at home, we play
like falling angels
nice and rough

Poem 2156
Amsterdam, 2019-03-15

Introduction by Tina Turner - 1985
Introduction to "Proud Mary" (1968, John Fogerty) and "River deep, mountain high" (1966, Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich & Phil Spector) by Tina Turner in 1985
Keyword: Desire (craving, lust) 
Tribute to: Turner, Tina 
 

Zywa Dear gazelle

Write me, you'll see
angels won't flee

pains, they endure
that is the key

Cherish our love
darling, I plea

please, you can set
both of us free

Always you'll be
Zywa for me

Poem 2161
Amsterdam, 2019-03-18

Ghazal = Gazelle, beautiful woman, beloved
Zywa (Polish) = alive, vivid
This is a ghazal, the traditional Arabian style of a religious or love poem; the characteristics are: 5 or more verses, all lines have the same metre, the end rhyme scheme is aa ?a ?a ?a ?a, and the poet's name is mentioned in the last line
The lines of this poem "Dear gazelle" are a trochee with an iamb, much shorter than usual with a ghazal, because WhiteLioness has limited the number of words to a maximum of 35 in the contest on the following Rumi quote:To love is human
To feel pain is human
Yet to still love despite the pain is pure angel

Keyword: Love: wish (expressed) 
 

I drink the passion

of his body, of his love --


always thirsty love.


Ik drink de hartstocht
van zijn lichaam, zijn liefde --seines Körpers, der Liebe --
die altijd dorst heeft.durstigen Liebe.

Poem H2496
Vlissingen, 2019-06-06

Keyword: Love: intimacy (physical) 
 

Zywa All mine

The kitchen and the large bed
are Mum's, Pippi and I
live throughout the house

where everything must be in its place
I'm working on it every day
just like Mum, and sweet mouse

Neil hangs on his tail
he watches and sniffs
then I pet him, he likes that



I was two, now I'm seventeen
my room is mine, and Trini
is mine, my stuff

friends, jobs, money and all
the things Mum would not approve
if she knew, are mine

all mine
even if they explode
and I can't help but cry

Poem 2291
Amsterdam, 2019-06-21

Keyword: Ego / ~ism/~centrism 
Dedicated to: Tessel vB 
 

Zywa Who will comfort me?

I am shocked by the question
to myself: who will comfort me?
Where are the arms

that rock me happy
and promise me a bright future?
With whom will I be safe?

     Come on girl, there is more
     under the sun, it shines
     look around you, smell
     the weather, you have your nose

     your eyes, ears, and mouth
     and your hands of course
     not just for the love
     of a man, of a child

But the world is so big
I want someone
for myself, a home

where I recharge
I want someone
to embrace, four arms

that feel together
that I am a woman
to love

Poem 2358
Amsterdam, 2019-07-09

Keyword: Safety: security / comfort 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

Zywa Me do (Independent Worker Without Personnel)

Me do, I said
and I burned my fingers
I was a big girl, I wanted everything
my brother was allowed to do

If I feel like it, I'll drive to Paris
on my Norton, in my leather jacket
with imputed emblems
the insulting thoughts

of frightened people
who shun me
declare me unsuited
and skip my turn

You should be ashamed, they say
but I burn with a desire
to be my own boss
and to do what I can

I'm not inferior to you
I can teach you a lot
I can beat you in everything
and that's only the beginning

Poem 2679
Amsterdam, 2020-02-06

Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better) - 1946
Song "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" - 1946, Irving Berlin
Keyword: Equality: 
Tribute to: Berlin, Irving 
Dedicated to: Tessel vB 
 

Zywa Dreamed love

People want rocks
build their lives on them
Houses that last

People want to hammer
their existence in memories
that last

People don't want to be nameless
but the name Love
will do

People want to believe
in the people
they need

People want to believe
in the power
of their dreams

Poem 3071
Amsterdam, 2020-07-07

Keyword: Desire (wish-dream) 
 

In heavy armour,

forged with reason, shame, and guilt --


the genes go hunting.


In zware pantsers
van verstand, schaamte en schuld --aus Vernunft, Scham und Schuld geh'n --
zijn genen op jacht.die Gene auf Jagd.

Poem H2770
Amsterdam, 2020-08-19

Keyword: Desire (craving, lust) 
 

Zywa The Bittersweet Secret

Listen, follow my words
maybe they'll open you
to the Big Secret

and anchor it
in your mind, the gravity
of it in your heart, a sense

of what life is, your
life on planet earth
People in love know it

for a while, while it lasts
It changes everything
you do, everything you see

The world and you adjust
easily and by themselves
Osmoses over and back

free from friction and irritations
of your skin, that flow the bittersweet
out of you and into you

Poem 3900
Amsterdam, 2021-07-18

Bittersweet (solanum dulcamara, active against eczema and witchcraft)
Keyword: Lifestream (follow) 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

To be married is:

be mutually willing --


to break through habits.


Een huwelijk is::
gewoonten wederkerig --Gewohnheiten zweiseitig --
willen doorbreken.durchbrechen wollen.

Poem H3028
Tilburg, 2021-08-25

In response to "The Bell" (1958, Iris Murdoch): "That is marriage, thought Dora; to be enclosed in the aims of another"
Keyword: Love: bond 
 

Pink in the verdant,

the tenderness of my heart --


chimes big little bells.


Roze in het groen,
de tederheid van mijn hart --läuten in meinem Herzen --
luidt grote klokjes.ganz großen Glocken.

Poem H3047
Amsterdam, 2021-09-17

Bellflowers
Keyword: Joy 
 

My soul wears a ring

to all its fingers, the rings --


of a lot of friends.


Mijn ziel draagt een ring
aan al haar vingers, ringen --allen Fingern einen Ring --
van vele vrienden.von vielen Freunden.

Poem H3096
Egmond aan Zee, 2021-10-27

Keyword: Friendship: bond 
 

Grace: it touches us,

it gives us more energy --


to act socially.


Genade raakt ons;
aan, geeft ons weer energie --gibt uns wieder Energie --
om sociaal te zijn.um sozial zu sein.

Poem H3225
Amsterdam, 2022-03-18

Grace = give or do what the other is in need of
Keyword: Love: Give To Be 
 

Zywa Love is resistance

Two curtain veils, swinging
wide, stride and drag
their hems around

in smaller and smaller circles
until they rotate in face of each
other and get in the grip
of the floor, their feet

wringing their legs, their waist
into a pirouette
the intimate entanglement

of a coupling couple
and their plait of repeated steps
in good times and in bad
until death ends

the resistance and each comes
free again, stretching loosely
and spreading out

Poem 4396
Amsterdam, 2022-03-19

What is love? (Casper Vandeputte) - 2022
Theatre performance (choreography Justin de Jager), performed on March 18th, 2022 in De Meervaart in Amsterdam, by Theater Utrecht in cooperation with DOX
Keyword: Love: intimacy 
Tribute to: Vandeputte, Casper 
 

Be still, he likes me,

likes to take me, my body --


really longs for it.


Zeg niets, hij mag mij,,
mag mij nemen, mijn lichaam --mag mich haben, mein Körper --
verlangt er zo naar.sehnt sich so danach.

Poem H3324
Amsterdam, 2022-06-10

Keyword: Desire (craving, lust) 
 

Zywa Zyw

The warm baths around
the eternal flame and the holy
water of the source
are a mystery
in which I am at home

My desire jumps
from man to man
spring after spring after every rest
- thirteen weeks a year
  to learn to understand everything -

To whom shall I give me
shall I give the chance
to impregnate me?
- 500 times the summer fire
  flaring up in my body -

Tired, confused, not knowing
what is going on inside me
I'm floating in the autumn bath
- it puts me together again
  into a calm woman -

But in the spring, the spring
I step forward reborn
as a fatal woman
- young again and again
  always a virgin -

Poem 4546
Amsterdam, 2022-06-21

Zyw = virgin
Keyword: Body: procreation 
 

Zywa Close

In the daily dull
familiarity of each other's
presence lies the satisfaction
of caring for each other

touched and seen
intimately close
to the soft facts

which I do not wish to cover
with the frills of words
and borrowed images

Even if I want to describe it
there are limits to what I write
and will others be limited

to our attitude, our glances
the tone of our words
and the best attention we give

Hardly anyone knows us
We are unknown
like almost all people
all ordinary people

Poem 4921
Amsterdam, 2023-01-05

Keyword: Love: intimacy 
 

Are we wonderful,

are we building great houses --


of love together?


Zijn wij fantastisch,,
bouwen we met zijn allen --erbauen wir gemeinsam --
huizen van liefde?Häuser der Liebe?

Poem H3951
Amsterdam, 2023-07-15

Keyword: Home: security / comfort 
 

Zywa Everything safe

Touching with caution
warmth upon warmth
kissing hairs

nails very softly
in circles and strokes
across your back

Everything safe, breathe
Falling asleep dreamlessly
and still know it

Whatever the day was like
whatever tomorrow's
program is: caressing hand

happy back
buttocks kiss
the warm belly

Poem 5348
Amsterdam, 2023-10-22

Keyword: Safety: security / comfort 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

You can see that he

is a man of the world, yet --


he belongs to us.


Je ziet zo dat hij
een man van de wereld is --ein echter Mann von Welt, er --
maar hij hoort bij ons.gehört aber uns.

Poem H5402
Amsterdam, 2025-04-24

With a photo of Pieter, the father of Madelief, Florentin, and Lotte

Pieter

Keyword: Parents: father(hood) 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Pieter W 
 

In Spain I is: el

corazón, and happiness:


dos corazones.


In Spanje is ik:
el corazón, en geluk:ich: el corazón, und Glück:
dos corazones.dos corazones.

Poem H5404
Amsterdam, 2025-04-25

For Linda, on the occasion of her 60th birthday
Keywords: Happiness (connection), España (Spain) 
Dedicated to: Linda B 
 

Zywa Drone

If I were to fly forward
with my intuition, beyond the green
of the strawberry fields and the rainbow
stripes of the tulips near Amsterdam

over the transience of everything
far enough for an overview
and a glimpse of the Big
Secret of love in life

would I know better
what is good for me
or do I know anyway
and do I dare to trust myself?

Poem 5644
Amsterdam, 2025-04-28

For Vanessa, who turns 23
Keyword: Love: wish (thought) 
Dedicated to: Vanessa V 
 

Yeah, peace is something

daily, it is just taking --


care of each other.


Ja, vrede is iets
dagelijks, het is gewoon --umeinander zu kümmern --
zorgen voor elkaar.so einfach ist es.

Poem H5440
Amsterdam, 2025-05-05

With a photo of Dory cutting Paul's hair (September 16th, 1986, Rekem)

Dory and Paul

Keywords: Care: brotherly love, Peace: social 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Dory dK, Paul J 
 

Grandpa looks at me,

I feel that he loves me, but --


who is he really?


Opa kijkt me aan,
en hij houdt van mij, maar wie --sicher, er liebt mich, aber --
is hij eigenlijk?wer ist er wirklich?

Poem H5518
Amsterdam, 2025-05-27

With a photo of Paul in the Organpark (November 16th, 2014, Amsterdam)

Paul

Keyword: Family: grandma / grandpa 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Paul J 
 

Home, with each other:

delicate, fragrant flowers --


blossoming with love.


Bij elkaar thuis zijn:
een en al liefde, tere --Hause: zarte, duftende --
geurende bloemen.Blumen der Liebe.

Poem H5591
Amsterdam, 2025-06-07

With a photo of Dory in her apartment in De Cocksdorp, with sweet pea (lathyrus odoratus), July 21st, 1990, Texel

Dory

Keywords: Love: bond (twoness), Nature: flowers 
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Dory dK 
 

Safe in the rock of

father's arm, floating along --


with all life on earth.


Veilig in de rots
van vaders arm meedeinen --von Vaters Arm zu treiben --
met alles wat leeft.mit allem, was lebt.

Poem H5685
Amsterdam, 2025-07-14

Rock (Esther Kin) - 2025
Ink drawing "Rots"
Keywords: Lifestream (follow), Parents: father(hood) 
Tribute to: Kin, Esther 
 

Zywa Attention

From now on, I am Mama
just as Mama always
will be my Mama

and as many women are
suddenly letting on that they are
But not of my child

And not with my discomforts
which they can't alleviate
with their wise prospects

I listen to my child
He teaches me baby talk
and what it means

to be Mama from now on
never just myself again
always with attention

for him, motherly love
is, throughout life, so much more
than worry and care

Poem 5665
Amsterdam, 2025-09-24

Keywords: Attention: for someone, Parents: mother(hood) 
Dedicated to: Else S 
 

Zywa In a more tender skin

Those one days with you
Extraordinary ordinary days
On vacation, in a tent
our warmth

or under low rafters
and on the rug
at home, in the garden
our lips

under a large canopy
and in a kerchief
while crossing
our languor

to get something tasty
and to go to the toilet
familiar, timeless
our love

still and forever
young, in a more tender skin
a more beautiful softness
our happiness

Poem 5943
Amsterdam, 2026-03-02

Keywords: Love: intimacy (of it all), Happiness (connection) 
 

Zywa Your hill

Branches snapping under your heels
your hands in the trousers-pockets
like a man – seemingly carelessly
you stroke out for the hill
     Then you always deliberately thought
     that this time I wouldn't be there
     your princess with the flaxen hair

You made me silently cry in bed
although I only had to catch sight
of you, to change my tears for a smile
and in a twinkle
     feel happy and light
     just because you were there
     to cool down among the periwinkle
     on your hill, in the evening air

Once I took your neck in my hands
and kissed your mouth over and over again
my pointed tongue against your teeth
     My heavy fingers slowly caressed
     your white but warm cheeks
     A light glow laurelled my body
     pervaded us with shame and nameless longing

Poem 30
Amsterdam, 2005-08-06

Return to Atlantis (Hubert Lampo) - 1953
Novel "Terugkeer naar Atlantis"
Keyword: In love: in the past 
Tribute to: Lampo, Hubert 
 

Zywa Children's game

My first loves, a game:
the cool boys in the breaks
for which school was good

and in the weekends with lies
confirmed by my dear brother
evenings of fun in disco and club –

the true, my real, life
Get a berry, we're not leaving
not going to bed. The bike will wait

we stay, chatting and laughing, free
we are, because mum doesn't know
and is not worried

Poem 1503
Amsterdam, 2017-08-09

Keywords: Love: play, Teenager (youth) 
Dedicated to: Tessel vB 
 

Zywa Fairied

An evil fairy in mother
is making it hard for me:
school, pocket money and so many

rules of getting up and coming
home on time. I can be angry
too, for all fairy's sake!

Daddy thinks I'm difficult
he doesn't listen. I need glasses
and the oculist says I don't

just like mother who always wants to know
everything, because she doesn't believe me
so why should I still

tell what I'm doing? As if
I am no good yet. But the boys
do know better, so let me

have fun, by fairied, how
else can this possibly be
the best time of my life!

Poem 1502
Amsterdam, 2017-08-09

Keywords: Ego: subjective hold, Womanly (fairy/nymph) 
Dedicated to: Tessel vB 
 

Zywa It had to be done

We were afraid
of getting caught
in the distance the train
to Grantham, here
buzzing mosquitoes and the smell
of the loo

At that time it was a building site
behind the ditch, cows were looking
in our direction, between the canteen
and material containers we lay
on a rubber plate
over the mud

I felt my fingers
in the warmth of his hair
and inside, the unknown
he was doing, it happened quite fast
twice, he said
we didn't have time to kiss

He walked away proudly
I followed him with my eyes
we did not dare
to go together
It has happened
Now I can go on

Poem 1469
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

City border (Anna Blaman) - 1939
Poem "Stadsrand"
Keyword: Teenager (growing up) 
Tribute to: Blaman, Anna 
 

Zywa Skin of my soul

In the pond, I warm myself by the sun
like a prince to be kissed

a girl dances water lilies
around me, her mirror dress
touches me for a moment

Would her lips only bend to me
to lick the salt from my skin
and the skin from my soul

then I would fly magic butterflies
down to her toes, would I anoint
and crown her, wallow in her –

seeds around us, so light
that they don't cast shadows

Poem 1484
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

Keyword: Love: wish (thought) 
 

Zywa All

Breakfast late
the table half-cleared
embrace in the kitchen

There's no need for more:
stomach to stomach, hands
around us

Slowly you take off your clothes
and mine, easily, we reach
for love that is already there

the glowing and the delay
the fulfillment that is already there
the big secret

Poem 1471
Amsterdam, 2017-08-02

Keyword: Love: intimacy (physical) 
 

Zywa Yes I do

With tender hands
you may carefully
undress and caress me

give me big kisses
heat and cold
won't harm me, I smell

fertile in your arms
open you with my skin
strip you of calluses

and stiffness, yes I do
want to be pregnant
with you, without temptation

be desired by you
every day, I want all
of you, cherish children

and grandchildren
in gardens and orchards
with a house full of rooms

Poem 2264
Amsterdam, 2019-06-09

Keyword: Desire (craving, lust) 
 

Among the bright stars

our happiness shines for life:


a future of love.


Tussen de sterren
straalt levenslang ons geluk:scheint unser Glück fürs Leben:
toekomst vol liefde.Zukunft voller Liebe.

Poem H2466
Amsterdam, 2019-05-20

Marriage announcement of Koen K and Zusanne
Keyword: In love: happiness 
Dedicated to: Koen K, Zusanne 
 

Red is the blossom

of my body, come in me --


impregnate beauty!


Rood is de bloesem
van mijn lichaam, kom in mij --meines Körpers, komm in mir --
en bevrucht schoonheid!befruchte Schönheit!

Poem H3287
Amsterdam, 2022-05-09

Keyword: In love: allurement 
 

Zywa Snow White's Death

Her neck, I remember
was a round ivory tower
not too short, not too long

Snow-white skin
Snow White her name
Who would not love her!

Oh, her shoulders, firm
and soft her arms and legs
round breasts and hips

straight back, perfect beauty
Magic mirror on the wall
who is beloved by all?

We all wished to know her
and hear words from her mouth
that bear witness to our existence

If she was only there
then I could hope
to love her someday

Poem 4505
Amsterdam, 2022-05-30

Book of the Duchess (Geoffrey Chaucer) - 1369
Also known as "The Deth of Blaunche"
Keyword: Love: romance 
Tribute to: Chaucer, Geoffrey 
 

Zywa
Collection
The Big Secret
GermanDutch5-7-5
PencilPumiceRainLoves
CompressedBirdsIflessPhoto
TributesDedicationsComposersHome
Attention is like sunshineMention © Zywa when using texts,
drawings, designs, paintings and photos
Search word:  CTRL-F