In many countries:

pavements full of stumbling blocks --


if they were allowed.


In steeds meer landen:In vielen Ländern:
stoepen vol struikelstenen --überall Stolpersteine --
als dat zou mogen.wäre das erlaubt.

Poem S1419
Amsterdam, 2022-06-07

Stolpersteine
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Memory: of an event 
 

There are streets between

the paving tiles, busy streets --


of an ant city.


Tussen de tegelsZwischen den Fliesen
liggen de drukke straten --gibt es belebten Straßen:
van een mierenstad.die Ameisenstadt.

Poem H1164
Konstanz, 2015-06-19

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Together: society 
 

There are lots of stones

in my own cemetery --


heavy on my thoughts.


Op mijn begraafplaatsAuf meinem Friedhof
liggen zoveel stenen, zwaar --liegen viele Steine, schwer --
op mijn gedachten.auf meiner Seele.

Poem H0887
Amsterdam, 2014-03-28

The weight of your own past
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Past: remnants 
 

The forget-me-not

on your grave sows on your grave --


more forget-me-nots.


Vergeet-mij-nietjeDas Vergissmeinnicht
op jouw graf zaait op jouw graf --auf dem Grab sät auf dem Grab --
vergeet-mij-nietjes.mehr Vergissmeinnichts.

Poem H0579
Amsterdam, 2013-09-27

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Death: cemetery / funeral 
 

Zywa Little blood trunks

The big boat, belly full of colour
bodies, floated up to the clouds
no longer moves around
the high mountain
which begins to grow down

Like a seed capsule, it snaps open
fertilises the slopes with blood
from the old world, with codes
of the secret of life
freshly written

going to travel over the earth
as little arks, swimming arks
crawling, walking, and flying arks
little blood trunks
full of prehistory

of the world
the real world
not the true one
that mankind
would create

Poem 1684
Amsterdam, 2018-02-18

Noah's Ark
Colour bodies: chromosomes

Collections: BloodTrunk, A Home 
Keywords: Evolution, Bible 
 

Zywa What are you still doing here?

People avoid me
I'm on a list
and get mail, at home
you are not safe

it says, what are you still
     doing here, do you
     need help packing?


I get a call:
Look outside
we are at your door

with enough boxes
Count your days and watch
your children, stupid quail
it is over
with wet-my-lips
     and it does not help
     to play dead
     Mau-mau, maybe
     God sends an angel
     of insight
     and compassion

Poem 1018
Amsterdam, 2017-02-14

The quail is said to be stupid, because it can be lured with a whistle
The sound of a male quail is like wet-my-lips, the sound of a female is like mau-mau
In case of danger, quails press to the ground, as if dead

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Power: wielding, Turkiye, Politics 
 

Zywa The stewards

No one lives for himself
we sing at funerals
We live for each other, the others
live for us and work for us

except the stewards
who accumulate wealth
because they want to believe
that this is best, and because

no one can comprehend
that the creation from nothing
is all, the universe with the earth
and mankind as the servant

of the crop, first in Eden
then outside it, and after that
the second expulsion, from the city
where they worked together

expelled to all regions
to praise God world-wide
with agriculture, as if the earth
wouldn't be good enough without it

Poem 4883
Amsterdam, 2022-12-08

Song "Niemand leeft voor zichzelf" ("No one lives for himself", text Huub Oosterhuis), for the funeral of bishop Wim Bekkers on May 14th, 1966)
Luke 16:1-8 Parable of the rich steward helping the debtors
Servant: Genesis 2:5,15, 3:23 Man must till the earth, first in the garden of Eden, then outside it
Working together: Genesis 11:1,4 The people want to stay together, so they build a city with a citadel
Driven out: Genesis 11:9 The people are driven out of their city to till the whole earth

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Together: labour / work / office, Bible 
 

The farmer watches

the land, the livestock, the wind --


the amount of work.


De boer overzietDer Bauer über-
het land, het vee en de wind --schaut das Land, das Vieh, den Wind --
en het vele werk.

Poem H0211
Amsterdam, 2012-02-12

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Economy 
 

Zywa Timespace adventures

Om-heavy waves crush
the interiors of mountains of stars
to seas of powderpure sand seed

and liquid toxins, they vibrate
them together into form adventures
sometimes a placenta

It couldn't go otherwise
than it is going on
the creation, the koan

of drawing forms
from nothingness
and the time in between

If, yes than it would have turned
out differently, but we live in this way
on a raft on liquid fire

a thin crust around
blood substances and blood toxins
full of swarming tests -

multiples, the unstable
with a beginning and an end
an end and a beginning

Poem 1067
Amsterdam, 2017-02-23

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Universe: energy, Earth: biosphere 
 

Zywa After the night

The soldiers come

suddenly, they shoot
the streets empty, we
don't fight, we take shelter
and crawl through the rooms

We hide ourselves and
survive the attack, afraid
to die, dreaming
of death and misery

Smouldering it gets quiet
Smoke strands, dogs
are smelling at bellies
licking at lips

at cold vomit
in the gutter, a golden ring
lights up between beetles
the wind slams a door

Powder-smoke and stench
Coming to senses
Time to clean up
too late for anger

Only the last
word on the dead
that doesn't do them justice
and will never be able to do so

Poem 1026
Amsterdam, 2017-02-15

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: War: flight 
 

Zywa Expathy

Under the dust of the boots
and the wagons of the troops:
the woodlice

moaning, bruised and maimed
by the weight on their peace
The war appeared out of the sky

bombed women and children
destroyed the houses and even the roads
You watch it online

not dressed yet
knowing it is real
and you put the coffee away

to let yourself go
in a few tears of impotence
and practical objections

It's too much trouble
to get into action here
and now in your time off

If you close your eyes
you feel the distance
and you are finished

Poem 1025
Amsterdam, 2017-02-16

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: War: death / victims, Sympathy / Compassion 
 

Streets full of flowers

and specialised shops, can they --


be our paradise?


Straten vol bloemenSind Straßen voller
en winkels voor alles wat --Blumen und Fachgeschäfte --
zijn ons paradijs?unser Paradies?

Poem H0305
Amsterdam, 2012-07-03

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Consume, Paradise 
 

Zywa Once upon a time

In the north
     being shot at by swarms of drones
     just happens
In the west
     being locked up and driven out
     just happens
In the south
     being raped and murdered
     just happens
In the east
     being tortured and starved
     just happens
Nowhere
     are hospitals and schools free
     nothing is sacred, no library is safe
Everywhere
     public order requires police stations
     with large offices for PR
And in the palaces
     the rich are laughing up their sleeves
     Nibble Nibble Like a Mouse
Who is nibbling at my house?
     It is the wind of money
     that always keeps flowing

Poem 6015
Amsterdam, 2026-05-04

Shock and yawn (Eva Peek) - 2026
Column in the NRC of April 11th, 2026
"Shock and awe" is a military tactic for rapid dominance
Fairy-tale "Hänsel und Gretel" ("Hansel and Gretel", 1812, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm)

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Violence: impersonal, Capitalism 
Tribute to: Peek, Eva; Grimm, Jacob & Wilhelm 
 

Eliminate their

doctors! Enemies must die!


It is our duty!


Weg met hun artsen!Weg mit den Ärzten!
Vijanden moeten sterven!Feinde müssen sterben! Das --
Dat is onze plicht!ist unsere Pflicht!

Poem S3093
Amsterdam, 2026-02-27

Targeted attacks by Iran in the hospitals, Israel in Palestinian territories, Russia in Ukrainian cities, RSF (Rapid Support Forces) in Sudan
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: War: death / victims, Palestina 
 

Zywa Breakout

Animals are animals
also in paradise
they weren't safe
from each other, but

then came evil:
ruthless man
from whom even the serpent
had to flee

because of a ripe apple
on the tree in which
he danced

The garden was soon too small
for man, he broke out
and went out into the world
leaving trails

of destruction
conquering and polluting
the highest mountains
and the deepest seas

Poem 5872
Amsterdam, 2026-02-09

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Mankind, Paradise 
 

It's Remembrance Day,

we ourselves feel the pounding --


of their frightened hearts.


Dodenherdenking,Der Volkstrauertag,
we voelen zelf het bonzen --wir selbst spüren das Klopfen --
van bange harten.ängstlicher Herzen.

Poem H5434
Amsterdam, 2025-05-04

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: War: remembrance 
 

Zywa Naked on the table

At the police station
I lie naked on the table
Men are stroking

with cotton swabs
over my skin, inside me
- the crime scene

object of investigation
file number
violation on violation

It is soft against hard
pain against lies
a fight

for the benefit of the doubt
about my words, my clothes
and his impeccable behaviour

The scratches in his skin have healed
as if I made them up, his DNA
under my nails is no evidence

Poem 5641
Amsterdam, 2025-04-02

Blue balls and other rape myths (Sunny Bergman) - 2025
Documentary "Blauwe ballen en andere verkrachtingsmythes"
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Rape (power) 
Tribute to: Bergman, Sunny 
 

I don't understand

the language of trains, kaboom --


how is the journey?


De taal van treinenDie Zugsprache, die
versta ik niet, boem kaboem --verstehe ich nicht, kabumm --
hoe verloopt de reis?wie läuft die Reise?

Poem H4727
Amsterdam, 2024-06-22

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Life: course (on the way) 
 

Zywa Iron ice

I am blue: cold blood, clod
and it will be frozen, iron ice
in the muzzle of the bear
that finds me, a hard bite
my life, penultimate thoughts

if no one comes
with warmth, oxygen
to be awake
and able to sleep
without dying

The sun remains behind the horizon
at night the depths make me dizzy
78% nitrogen is the bottom
everything is all-right
I dream that I'm still there

Poem 5443
Amsterdam, 2024-03-04

The Earth's atmosphere contains 78% nitrogen gas
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Body: functioning 
 

Silhouettes of birds

following the fishermen:


a killer squadron.


Silhouetten vanSilhouetten von
vogels volgen de vissers:Vögeln folgen den Fischern:
een doodseskader.ein Todesschwadron.

Poem H4474
Amsterdam, 2024-01-28

Leviathan (Paravel and Castaing-Taylor) - 2012
Documentary
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Earth: biosphere 
Tribute to: Paravel, Verena; Castaing-Taylor, Lucien 
 

There's a lot of blood

spurting out of the trawler --


Murder of the sea.


Er spuit bloed, veel bloedDa spritzt Blut, viel Blut
opzij uit de vissersboot --seitlich aus dem Fischerboot --
De zee wordt vermoord.Ermordung des Meers.

Poem S2110
Amsterdam, 2024-01-28

Leviathan (Paravel and Castaing-Taylor) - 2012
Documentary
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Animals: fish, Sea 
Tribute to: Paravel, Verena; Castaing-Taylor, Lucien 
 

Zywa Tribal wars [1]

Like every street had a church
with its own theology, the village
counting twelve tribes
of the chosen ones, proclaiming
unity in their blessed name

this is how we join
when it matters
not to be excluded
and divided, bearing the brunt
of other people's interests

and having to suffer
what goes wrong
in the districts, the stadiums
and at the town halls
ministries and universities

Tribes are forming everywhere
With their own truths and martyrs
for the lied unity
of the common good
for which there is no tribe

Poem 5099
Amsterdam, 2023-03-14

In the village of Alblasserdam, in addition to the Catholic Church, the Jewish-Messianic congregation and the Islamic community (umma), there are currently 16 church buildings and 12 protestant denominations
(Protestant Church, Restored Reformed Church, Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated), Old-Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands, Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands, Reformed Congregations, Christian Reformed Churches, Evangelical congregation Jozua, Evangelical congregation 't Scheepke (the Little Ship), Evangelical congregation Nehemia, Baptist Congregation, Jehova's Witnesses)

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Together: group, Ethics: practice 
 

Zywa Tribal wars [2]

Borders in our heads
where it becomes unsafe
and we are on our guard

against those who come in
with a mouth full
of questions and criticism

who keep a low profile
as good neighbours
with democratic rights

to undermine government
whereby they change colour
until they feel strong enough

to blow up differences
and to welcome others'
losses as gains

until there are no more borders
just gaps and stinking fistulas
with internal bleeding

Poem 5093
Amsterdam, 2023-03-07

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Foreigners: aversion, Together: group 
 

Ambulances, blood-

bags driving to the border:


a war is coming!


Ambulances, bloed-Krankenwagen, Blut-
zakken rijden naar de grens:beutel fahren zur Grenze:
een oorlog op komst!ein Krieg wird kommen!

Poem S1617
Amsterdam, 2022-12-29

Russia early 2022, on the border with Ukraine
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Combat readiness, Ukraina, War: daily life 
 

This big red monster,

bloodied heads, loose arms and legs:


with eternal life.


Bebloede hoofden,Blutige Köpfe,
losse armen en benen:lose Arme und Beine:
de oorlog waart rond.der Krieg geht herum.

Poem S1604
Amsterdam, 2022-12-18

Shaka Fumukabaka in Kinshasa (Kris Pannecoucke) - 2022
Shaka Fumukabaka in a suit of broken dolls, Kinshasa 2022 (photo Kris Pannecoucke)
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: War: death / victims 
Tribute to: Pannecoucke, Kris; Fumukabaka, Shaka 
 

I jump out of bed,

the eiderdown around me --


What sound did I hear?


Ik spring snel uit bed,Ich spring aus dem Bett,
het donzen dek om mij heen --die Decke um mich herum --
Wat heb ik gehoord?Was hab ich gehört?

Poem H3598
Amsterdam, 2022-12-04

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Danger: hidden 
 

Zywa For girls and for peace

The song, that girl, touches me
time and time again, although I don't want to
think often of her

That girl without hair comb
without dress, just only a number
on her hand

and Antonis who carries someone else's burden

For whom do I carry the burden
of their lives, why
is their life also mine?

It just has to be for you
neighbour, for you, refugee
for girls and for peace

Poem 3946
Amsterdam, 2021-09-23

Ballad of Mauthausen (Iakovos Kambanellis) - 1963
The Ballad of Mauthausen (1963, Iakovos Kambanellis)
1965, music Mikis Theodorakis
1966, performed by Maria Farantouri

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Together: solidarity 
Tribute to: Kambanellis, Iakovos; Theodorakis, Mikis 
 

Zywa Space Oddity

I take a bath in salt water
where gravity does not exist
On the shelf there is a new set
of the same clothes laid out

There is no concert hall here
and no outside for walking
only a greenhouse
where I like to sniff scents

free of human traces
the skin creams and soap
with which we, counted acquaintances
distinguish ourselves

And when I take care
to pee silent and to poop
not sputtering
leave the light out

and have sex carefully slow
I am the only one on the toilet
in my bed and the bath
who spies on me

Poem 3692
Amsterdam, 2021-04-15

Space Oddity (David Bowie) - 1969
Covid-19 Lockdown
Song "Space Oddity" (album "David Bowie")

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Privacy, Covid-19 
Tribute to: Bowie, David 
 

Zywa Jeroen Bosch

Another boring day
Everything is what it seems
without fantasies

I'm not like professor T
who makes Jeroen Bosch paint
what is going on:

everything embodied
as what it is and therefore
transparent

The city is large, but small
is my view, as if
we live far away from each other

in spaceships, built-up
areas as small as hamlets
where the truth is close

but all the harder
to be seen, to be tested, and to be said
There is no way out

I can't escape
only dream without running
into danger in the outside world

Poem 3690
Amsterdam, 2021-04-15

Covid-19 Lockdown
Police series "Professor T" (2015-2018) with Koen de Bouw as Jasper Teerlinck

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Boredom: dullness / emptiness, Covid-19 
Tribute to: De Bouw, Koen 
 

It is yours, but not

for free, you pay for anger --


with blood, sweat and tears.


Het is van jezelf,Dein Zorn gehört dir,
toch betaal je voor woede --und doch bezahlst du dafür --
bloed, zweet en tranen.Blut, Schweiß und Tränen.

Poem H2691
Amsterdam, 2020-05-02

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Anger / Rage 
 

Where I cut, I bleed,

please look, look at me, I am --


warm, no delusion.


Waar ik snijd bloed ik,Ich schneide, blute,
kijk dan, kijk naar mij, ik ben --schau mal, schau mich an, ich bin --
warm, geen verzinsel.warm, keine Fiktion.

Poem S0993
Amsterdam, 2020-03-02

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Attention: attract, Identity: being seen 
 

Zywa Hellstone

The student is curious
As the master he wants to be
he cuts in the deceased
according to the surgical guide

Bodies are interesting
to discover during the holidays
and later, to explain in passing
to the other students

The farmers watch in silence
how man is an animal
a large species of frog
They don't care about science

Oh dear, fresh blood, give me hellstone
Quick, take the bottle from your bag
to disinfect the wound and burn it
away to a large black hole

The district doctor shakes his head
How could Mister student think
he would have money
for such a precious thing as silver!

Poem 2392
Amsterdam, 2019-08-17

Fathers and children (Ivan Turgenev) - 1862
Hellstone is the name for AgNO3 (silver nitrate oxide)
Novel "Otcy i deti"

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Knowledge: science 
Tribute to: Turgenev, Ivan 
 

Zywa Keep an eye on everything

By playing, I learned
not to be concerned
if I was laughed at
I fell, bumped my head
but I was the only one
who got hold of the bear

There is no better training
for bosses -- you always have to keep
an eye on the smallest things:

giggle whispers, a cough
and a smile, withheld
breath, a moving foot
and at every step
you have to gauge
where you are

I have practised for real
life. Now the square is mine
My shadow grows
over the water at my feet
where big fish fish small fish
and it reaches to the other side

Poem 2338
Amsterdam, 2019-07-04

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Power: wielding 
 

Zywa Heir

It burns in the south, the wind
is hungry, its tongues of fire
lick the wood of the earth and
eat themselves to rich countries

while behind our backs in the north
the ice is melting and milliliters of water
are cutting thin slices off our country
and our prosperity, like sharpened steel

Yet I will, yet I want, yet I must
maintain it, if I can, if they let me
these frightened blonde giants here
who count back generations

to the great taciturn man
Father of the Nation and beggar
my example and ancestor
(one percent of my genes)

which means nothing, but
his expensive coat of blue blood
does matter, and the blazing fire
that makes me think of his death

Poem 2332
Amsterdam, 2019-07-02

Christmas speech by King William-Alexander, successor of William the Taciturn, who was mocked as a gueux (beggar, "geus") and was assassinated in 1584
Heraldic motto "Je maintiendrai (Châlon)" = "I will maintain (Châlon)"

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Prosperity, Politics 
Tribute to: Willem-Alexander 
 

Zywa Do not prosper

This year is a good year
The harvest is large, we can
hire more people
have our houses renovated

and buy by auction
an extra piece of land
the sellers make a profit
they laugh at all the money

from us farmers and from
the soldiers who came
back from the war with
honestly stolen wealth

They make everything more expensive
so that I am short of money and
have to sell my farm
This year is a bad year

Poem 2330
Amsterdam, 2019-07-02

Inflation by spoils of war, for example during the reigns of Alexander the Great (336-323) and Philip II (1556-1598), and during the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648)
Silver Fleet (Spanish treasure fleet), seized under the leadership of Piet Hein (1628-1629)

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Economy 
 

Zywa The most important

Thinking of diseases
I cannot prevent them
not all, but most
just by thinking of them

I leave others in their healthy delusion
just not to linger over diseases
because there are so many
dangers that it is a miracle

to grow old
you don't have eyes everywhere
you don't always have hands
resources and time available

you don't even control
yourself, you only have gratitude
when life is better than expected
and you realize what is most important

Poem 2322
Amsterdam, 2019-06-30

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Health: psycho-soma 
 

Zywa The raging

Only the gold and the pearls
of the good golden age
when nobles still thought

they knew the good for everyone
have been passed on in the stories
and the misery you have
to figure in yourself

Well, life tempts you
to forget losses
the stolen cheeses, the dead
buried flowers, cleared graves

It is not all so beautiful
so I rather let my thoughts
rage in my body
than even whisper them

Poem 2314
Amsterdam, 2019-06-28

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Stories: truth / untruth, Life: survival (suffering) 
 

Zywa Expensive names

Those in power no longer torture
a palace guard to rob a garden
from abroad for their lusts

no, nowadays money is enough
the magnetic big money
which always finds servants

Look closely at this painting
the colors are darker, and old
is the paint skin, forever

masterful are the brush strokes
yet this matter is only
just an attachment

for the trade in big names
the derivatives of art
with which profit is spoken

Poem 2313
Amsterdam, 2019-06-28

King Philip II (1527-1598) bought the triptych "Garden of Delights" (from 1480-1490, by Jheronymus Bosch) in 1591, which Alva in 1567/1568 had robbed from the palace of William of Orange-Nassau (1533-1584) in Brussels
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Art (value), Prestige: status 
Tribute to: Bosch, Jheronymus 
 

Zywa The cold earth

The longer ago it is
the suffering, the cold earth
the deeper you can feel

how bad it must have
been, the more hope
you have to add

to the certainty
of the confidence that
le jour de gloire est arrivé

You hear the hearts cheer
before the killing
before for silence

After the fight and the digging
there is rest
in peace, the peace

in which we must believe
with all our heart
our torn heart

Poem 2312
Amsterdam, 2019-06-27

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: War: death / victims 
 

Zywa Reality today

Dear grandma, I remember you

and a few of your stories

of the war, the little big

dramas to commemorate



my children only hear them half

because of the bombardment

of images of wars far away

daily in the news



so

we play reality today

to feel, to know

how rending it is



I am the grandma and my daughter

is her mother, the street breaks

after a shot, the air creaks

and we hold our breath

Poem 1030
Amsterdam, 2019-06-27

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Family: grandma / grandpa 
 

Zywa The Big Event

From heaven
fast dots diving
to a no man's land

discarded without wings
soft bags, chairs
hard metal, limbs
my heart too

stands still
in disbelief
yet there is a patent leather shoe
yet I read unfolded lives

My misty eyes
and my mouth full of thoughts
ask for words
for the emptiness

This far too big event
on an ordinary day
extends beyond the horizon

Poem 2218
Amsterdam, 2019-04-24

Flight MH17 on July 17th, 2014
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: War: death / victims, MH17 
 

Zywa Wing eyes

My son is like me:
when I'm not looking, he snakes
through the grass and bushy-tails
up the alder to look out

with wing eyes – he shouts
to the wind where he will go:
far beyond the neighbours
across borders and sunken ships

to the bears of Europe
Bern, Berlin, mad Madrid
Mistress Marseille and the sea
of Seattle, to watch the sun

rise in the large world
outside the wall around our garden
with the squeaky gate
which, opened carefully

gives a chink of a view

Poem 2049
Amsterdam, 2019-01-22

MAD (Barajas, Madrid), MRS (Marignane, Marseille), SEA (Seattle)
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Fantasy: imagination 
 

Zywa Bloody clothes

From working you get wounds
Bloody clothes in washing machines

Then you sit beside and wait
with spinning thoughts

doing nothing but caress
your skin and fantasize

to do that together with whom
and how and excitingly beautiful

the wounds would heal
and also, very gently with the nails

scratching the scabs

Poem 1980
Amsterdam, 2018-12-13

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Body: naked 
 

Zywa Freeblood is my name

There is a sound of sex in my name -
at school, I often had a blush
I was ashamed of the giggles

At parties I stood in the quiet places
and in the parade I walked
on long wooden legs

The wind blew, tugged and
tore my trouser legs
There were shouts and calls

for more, Hellooo helloohoo
where are you, what are you
thinking about,
my friend asked

Everyone sees only the veils
under which you hide, are you aware
that none of us knows you?

Just be a little like crazy, for once, dare
to go for it, to die of shame
or to bed with someone

Dare to be a descendant
of the man who chose:

Freeblood is my name

Poem 1962
Amsterdam, 2018-12-05

Man, dare to live (Dirk Witte) - 1917
Song "Mensch, durf te leven" (Dirk Witte, sung by Jean-Louis Pisuisse)
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Freedom: mental 
Tribute to: Witte, Dirk; Pisuisse, Jean-Louis 
 

Zywa Skirmishes

It doesn't make any sense
the men do not wage war
They are too old and too wise
they remain sensible
Nothing changes

The danger is pending
Where is the passion
the fierce infatuation
with each other's fading eyes
while the blood gushes?

They cannot even see each other
only in clear weather, the towers
of the city and the plumes of smoke
above the camp of the enemy
who sets off with bravado

to rob fishermen and shepherds
Everything valuable from the villages
furniture and healthy girls
are they shipping to dealers
in neutral ports

The trade makes them rich
The siege can wait, the need
to break through is after all the last
hope and fear
of gaining or losing fame

Poem 1919
Amsterdam, 2018-11-12

Guerilla, also in Troy
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: War: daily life 
 

Zywa Trunks full of money

Pete Heyn looks at me thoughtfully
his goatee shows a long tongue

maybe for me
my hindsight knowledge

of his fame, the silver
booty and the ministries

of marine, commerce and colonies
which finance prosperity

with things others believe
they need, we trade them

for trunks full of money and if
it stinks it is washed

at the bank around the corner
Persistent stains are brought

to the Switzerland of Zwingli
and Calvin, this way the world gets better

with marine ropes and canvas
with hemp! with hemp!

the profits will be big
we win the silver fleet!

Poem 1915
Amsterdam, 2018-11-11

Hawsers and sails (canvas) were made from cannabis (hemp)
Song "Zilvervloot" (Jan Pieter Heije, 1847)

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Prosperity, Trade 
Tribute to: Heije, Jan Pieter 
 

Zywa Blue pale green yellow pink and red

Old self-knowledge, the old fear
of blood loss, watch out
for predators

and dream of vampires
dream of witches
who drink the blood

of the unborn
who drink the blood
of their mothers

the sweet blood
which also nourishes mosquito eggs
the blood that gives life

to all animals, a body
is a trunk full of blood
blue pale green yellow pink and red

to catch or for sale at farms
breeding stations and speciality stores

the leeches with caeca
at the pharmacy, without a prescription

oh, ticks will wait a year
five years if it's only then that you come

Poem 1685
Amsterdam, 2018-02-18

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Body: functioning 
 

Zywa A flush for the drudge

Since the taming of the horse
     the beginning
     of globalization
     the long-distance trade, the saddlebags

     those multi-functional trunks
     carried by someone else's legs
     which go out into the world
     with bronze, wheat and rope

     and with a flush for the drudge -
     in the tent, amidst the incense
     of the hempseed or the resin
     of the flowers in power

cannabis indulges itself and is bred
from weed into the daily medicine
that mutates the human blood trunks
into servants who run for it

Poem 1140
Amsterdam, 2017-03-06

Yamna (3000 BCE in Ukraine and South-Russia)
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Culture: skill / competence, Trade 
 

Zywa Matryoshka

Been enough madam big belly
in comfortable harem pants
Now I become a spiritual
matryoshka, I blow myself up:

my child (the little parasite
which I, in a wide-leg squat
hoopla, pulled into my arms)
grows, crawls and tries to walk
further and further away from me
but I will not allow it to escape

all my life I will extend
my most sensitive nerves
straight from my mother heart
to embrace all
of his world forever

Poem 1139
Amsterdam, 2017-03-06

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Parents: mother(hood) 
 

Zywa Away without notion

There is a small chance
of a gentle death
You don't want to know

Rather do you believe
in a heavenly hand
that makes everything right

For some, that comes true
They lose blood and slip
away without notion

where they are, united
with all, they float
breathing calm and peaceful

Somewhere there is pain
something urgent
but what

they are not aware -
their sweat, their shivers
and their last floundering

They are lucky, they are not afraid
in the dark that embeds them
They see almost nothing

only a tunnel of light

Poem 1032
Amsterdam, 2017-02-17

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Death: dying 
 

Zywa I feel the shadow

Not frank and free
in an open field of fire
but as a guerilla
hostilely hidden
in everyday life

I feel it, the shadow
and I imagine right away
to make the thrower controll-
able, it's an elephant
without legs, a whale

hovering menacingly
over me, not a Zeppelin
with science fiction technology
not Big Brother disguised
as phones and cash desks

but private deputies
who, from all corners
patiently play the begirding
game to conquer the world
for concealed gods

Poem 1029
Amsterdam, 2017-02-17

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Power: wielding 
 

Zywa People's liberation

Withered colours
barren border
hills after the winter
small spots, holey ice

and frozen mud

Training
to defend the country
against barbarians
always against barbarians
who are on the inside

what we look like
on the outside: primitive
in bough's suits
mighty Loch Enzi-men
the classic walking forest

with large warm hands
and weapons
proven
decisively
the best

Poem 1028
Amsterdam, 2017-02-17

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Power: mass, War: fight 
 

Zywa All squares of Europe

The moon will not flap here
not wax by eating us
no, we are Free Brethren

we do know better
     what the value is
     of the long arm

     of a strong man
     under the blood-red flag
     of the people
                            that follow

     what earthly and heavenly laws
     decree by the grace of judges
     who want to keep their jobs

we eat the waxing moon
fresh every day and on the twelfth of September
in all the squares of Europe:

those who don't participate must leave
we don't want infiltrators
who refuse
                   to feign

Poem 1027
Amsterdam, 2017-02-16

Free Brethern: Franks and Germans
Waxing moon: croissant
From July 14th to September 12th, 1683, the Ottoman Empire besieged Vienna

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Freedom: equality, Turkiye 
 

Zywa Monsters in humans

You would close your eyes
in the cinema if you dared

to think it is worse
in real life, the horror

everywhere and always, that
people are scared, see

monsters in humans

and conspiracies, offenders
that the police do not catch

For family and friends
God and country, your honour

you have to fix it yourself -
teach lessons to those who do not

participate, they must think
the worst things

until they defecate farmia
and finally no longer

are able to beg
that they may die

Poem 1021
Amsterdam, 2017-02-15

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Fear: insecurity 
 

Zywa Fields of honour

They are not afraid
to hate
and what use is it
to have an opinion about that

They are so civilized
they pull on velvet gloves
call your name and take you by the hand

spin you around like a child
without you being able to laugh
because they do

On the walls, they draw streaks
of living red
There are pictures of it

They decently buried the pieces
of guilt and shame at fields of honour
with every year again
a solemn commemoration

Poem 1017
Amsterdam, 2017-02-14

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Power: murder / annihilation 
 

Zywa Waterwolf

We live in the side compartments
of a suitcase on the way

that exchanges our flesh and blood
for pepper and cinnamon

sometimes also sleeping pods, but
only the captain knows about that

     The ship has a big belly
     it is a hungry waterwolf

     and we, in this realm of the dead
     hope to be saved

     spit out on land
     like Jonah by the whale

We do our job, for the shipping line
fixed costs of wages and compensations

often paid to the parents
who lost us to the sea

and to the widows
who could not count on us

Poem 1016
Amsterdam, 2017-02-14

Sleeping pods: papaver
Waterwolf: both the wolves and the whales originated from a wolf animal as their ancestor

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Life: survival (effort), Trade 
 

Zywa Life is expensive

You can't see it, but people do
have crooked eyes. For centuries
there is a test running

to prove it: laws
don't last, the nectar smells
irresistibly over the wall

of counters and the capital
punishment for building big boats
The sweet scent of happiness entices

A little of is already enough
to make someone function -
so why would I be so generous

as to give more than the minimum?
The police are my best friend
I'm willing to pay for that

Poem 1013
Amsterdam, 2017-02-13

Capital punishment:
[1] Refugees drown as a result of unscrupulous people smugglers
[2] from 1500 onwards, building a junk with more than two masts was punishable by death in China for a long time, so that long journeys were impossible

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Capitalism 
 

Zywa Men

At night we scream, sleeping afraid
of tentacles between the sheets

we wake up from thunder rolls
and the rattling of the windows

we listen to the barking dogs
until we disappear unnoticed

into the arms of our cuddly toy
but in the morning the sun shines

then

we all run out
and are happy all day

in the sun and crusts of mud
on our bodies and limbs: Sack Men –

we stink of beans
suffocate the enemy

in the smell, cry him to the bottom
of the sacks, shakily afraid

we beat the drum, chase away the snakes
fight the milling arms

of mighty giants, legions
of sheep and dangerous generals

until at home we empty the sacks
over the fire and the animals

howl and wriggle
but they cannot catch us

Poem 1012
Amsterdam, 2017-02-13

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Manly (tough) 
Dedicated to: Patrick vC 
 

Zywa Alternating animal

Grandpa is sitting straight
against post 8,5
his feet in the hole

I am a horse
in the empty place
facing him

dust clouds behind me
and splashing water
I am a flying fish

my fins grow
wings with feathers whizz whoom
I already am on the other side

and back with eagle eyes
beware, I claw you away
before you see my shadow

I do the mole crawl and
with mill sails, I rain
a moat around our fortress

Poem 1011
Amsterdam, 2017-02-13

With grandpa at the beach
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Fantasy: playing 
 

Zywa In Gothic niches

They keep quiet, the old dead in grey
bedsheets and the young ones radiant white
with a dowdy knot above their heads
stock-still in the Gothic niches
of the trees swaying high

A medieval open-air museum
birdlessly silent with gusts of wind
incomprehensibly rustling
in the leaves that move
what doesn't mean they're alive

I must have a look inside
stare through a microscope
to see if it is me, there
in those busy ports
of ions and molecules

Do they live or die
do they eat or are they eaten
and am I only food
and a ghostly apparition
of my own death?

Poem 2316
Amsterdam, 2016-06-28

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Death: cemetery / funeral 
 

Zywa Self-proclaimed heirs

The earth is, reshaped by people
worth the earth more than once
not for itself, but for us
the self-proclaimed heirs

After an epidemic the houses collapse
but years later, the crops, savaged
are still there, and fissured
the roads are still there -

for new people
building new houses
and the earth pays and suffers
what people wish for

I wonder what is enough
if it is self-evident
that one's sweat is worth itself
only once

Poem 630
De Koog, 2016-04-15

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Earth: mother 
 

The old central square:

above the demonstrators


roofs full of pigeons.


Het centrale plein:Der zentrale Platz:
boven de demonstrantenüber den Demonstranten --
daken vol duiven.Dächer voller Tauben.

Poem H0853
Amsterdam, 2014-03-08

1989: Tiananmen Square, Beijing
1989: Alexanderplatz, Berlin
1989: Wenceslas Square, Prague
2005: Independence Square, Kyiv
2011: Liberation Square, Cairo
Taksim Square, Istanbul
2014: Independence Square, Kyiv

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Equality: assert, Flying: pigeon 
 

I swim my sorrow

through wavy waters, the fish --


are gagging for air.


Ik zwem mijn verdrietMeine Kummer schwimmt
door woelig water, vissen --durch welliges Wasser, Fisch --
happen er naar lucht.schnappt immer nach Luft.

Poem H0592
Amsterdam, 2013-09-30

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Sadness: suffer 
 

The cow and the child

stand for the ditch, wondering --


what freedom would be.


De koe en het kindDie Kuh und das Kind
staan voor de sloot te denken --vor dem Graben wundern sich --
wat vrijheid zou zijn.was Freiheit wäre.

Poem H0569
Amsterdam, 2013-09-22

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Freedom: mental 
 

In my mother's house,

very familiar scents live:


I smell who I was.


In mijn moeders huisAlle Gerüche
wonen vertrouwde geuren:im Haus meiner Mutter: ich --
ik ruik wie ik was.rieche, wer ich war.

Poem H0563
Amsterdam, 2013-09-13

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Memory: of one's life 
 

I am a thinker:

although, can I think away --


sedimented thoughts?


Ik ben een denker:Ich bin ein Denker:
aangeslibde gedachten --die verschlammten Gedanken --
kan ik wegdenken?kann ich wegdenken?

Poem H0439
Amsterdam, 2013-04-22

Sunyata = absence of mental disturbances (and absence of an illusory self)
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Reason: critical 
 

I'm rubbing the grains

out of the ears, for my bread --


or for them to live?


Ik wrijf korrels uitIch reibe Körner
droge aren, voor mijn brood --aus den Ähren, für mein Brot --
of voor hun leven?oder ihr Leben?

Poem H0330
Amsterdam, 2012-07-31

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Nature: plants, Culture: agriculture, livestock 
 

Scattered broken bricks,

ants, and the sharp grass eating --


everything away.


Oude bakstenen,Alte Backsteine,
mieren en het scherpe gras --Ameisen und scharfes Gras --
dat alles opeet.das alles auffrisst.

Poem H0316
Amsterdam, 2012-07-18

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Nature: plants, Animals: ant / termite / cockroach 
 

By sailing the seas

discovering the earth: cliffs --


plants, prehistory.


Varend de aardeFahrend die Erde
ontdekken: kliffen, planten --entdecken: Klippen, Pflanzen --
de prehistorie.die Uhrgeschichte.

Poem H0298
Train Amsterdam-Terborg, 2012-06-30

[1] The English Channel, [2] Charles Darwin
Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Knowledge: science 
Tribute to: Darwin, Charles 
 

Spotlights, reflected

off the gold celebrity:


image on image.


Schijnwerpers, weerkaatstFlutlicht, reflektiert
op de gouden beroemdheid:vom goldenen Ansehen:
een schijn op de schijn.ein Schein über Schein.

Poem H0181
Amsterdam, 2012-01-16

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keywords: Appearances, Honour / Fame 
 

Something's happening,

more and more people pass on --


what they do not know.


Er is iets gaande,Drüben ist was los,
steeds meer mensen vertellen --die Leute reden -- über
wat ze niet weten.was sie nicht wissen.

Poem H0031
Amsterdam, 2011-11-26

Collection: BloodTrunk 
Keyword: Curiosity: secret / world 
 

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