Whenever my arms

are doing the work, all the --


other muscles bend.


Wanneer mijn armenWenn meine Armen
het werk doen, buigen zich de --arbeiten, beugen sich die --

andere spieren.anderen Muskeln.

Poem H5611
Amsterdam, 2025-06-16
With a photo of Madelief taken during a video call (October 11th, 2011, Grossdietwil)
Sedentary work, from school desk to computer table

Madelief

Collection: Local inconveniences
Dedicated to: Madelief dK 
 

Sorry for the smell,

the fact is, I ate onions --


It's my period.


Sorry voor de geur,Verzeihung bitte,
ik heb uien gegeten --dass ich nach Zwiebeln rieche --

Ik ben ongesteld.Tja, Monatsblutung.

Poem H5130
Amsterdam, 2024-12-13
Collection: Local inconveniences
 

My memory is

overwritten all the time --


Like a palimpsest.


Mijn geheugen isMein Gedächtnis wird
keer op keer overschreven --fortlaufend überschrieben --

Als een palimpsest.Wie ein Palimpsest.

Poem H5127
Amsterdam, 2024-12-12
Collection: Dearme
 

After stapling closed

my veins, I'll never forget --


what my blood type is.


Na het dichtnietenSeit der Klammerung
van mijn aders leerde ik --meiner Venen kenne ich --

wat mijn bloedgroep is.meine Blutgruppe.

Poem H4721
Amsterdam, 2024-06-20
Kings, chicks (Lieke Marsman) - 2021
Poem "Koningen, kuikens" (collection "In mijn mand")
Collection: Glimpsed
Tribute to: Marsman, Lieke 
 

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 
 

Another new birth,

another programmed clotting --


of exploded cells.


Weer een geboorte,Eine Neugeburt,
zo'n geprogrammeerde klont --so ein programmierter Kloß --

ontplofte cellen.Explodierzellen.

Poem H4540
Amsterdam, 2024-02-25
The surprise (Belcampo) - 1968
Story "De surprise" (collection "De ideale dahlia")
Collection: Finethreads
Tribute to: Belcampo 
 

Bodies keep going,

keep seeking a pleasant life --


whatever happens.


Lichamen zoekenKörper, suchend nach
naar een aangenaam leven --einem bequemen Leben --

wat er ook gebeurt.egal was passiert.

Poem H4494
Amsterdam, 2024-02-04
Collection: The Yellow House Museum
 

Bodies, looking for

pleasure and fun in the world --


of competitors.


Lichamen, zoekendJeder Körper sucht
naar genot in de wereld --nach Vergnügen in der Welt --

van concurrenten.der Konkurrenten.

Poem H4495
Amsterdam, 2024-02-04
Collection: The drama
 

My body may seem

solid, but it is a cloud --


of floating atoms.


Mijn lichaam lijkt welMein Körper scheint fest,
stevig, maar het is een wolk --ist aber eine Wolke --

van zweefatomen.aus Schwebatomen.

Poem H4425
Amsterdam, 2024-01-06
recently (Anjet Daanje) - 2016
Novel "jl." (the title also refers to Juno Linnaarts), chapter April 28th, 1986
Collection: No wonder
Tribute to: Daanje, Anjet 
 

I feel it tickling

down my thy one more time, at --


once I am younger.


Het kriebelt mijn dijAm Bein kitzelt es
af, toch nog een keer, ineens --wieder herunter, plötzlich --

voel ik me jonger.fühle ich mich jung.

Poem H4111
Amsterdam, 2023-09-05
Morning tea (Antjie Krog) - 2006
Menstruation (after menopause)
Poem "Oggendtee" (collection "Verweerskrif" ["Body bereft"])

Collection: Skin-contact
Tribute to: Krog, Antjie 
 

Relax your thinking

muscle, nothing to do, you --


had an accident.


Ontspan, ontspan jeEntspann dich, deinen
denkspier, je hoeft niets, je bent --Denkmuskel, du musst nichts, du --

nu verongelukt.bist jetzt verunglückt.

Poem H3651
Amsterdam, 2023-01-07
crushed crumple zones (Henk van der Waal) - 2003
Poem "geplette kreukelzones" (collection "De aantochtster")
Collection: Blankets of snow
Tribute to: Van Der Waal, Henk 
 

He is a mummy,

as yellowed as the filters --


he used to smoke through.


Hij is een mummie,Eine Mumie
zo vergeeld als de filters --ist er, gelb wie die Filter --

waardoor hij rookte.durch die er rauchte.

Poem S1602
Amsterdam, 2022-12-18
Pape Noir in Kinshasa (Kris Pannecoucke) - 2022
Pape Noir in a suit of cigarette butts, Kinshasa 2022 (photo Kris Pannecoucke)
Collection: Bruises
Tribute to: Pannecoucke, Kris; Noir, Pape 
 

Repairs all the time,

to stay myself, my meta-


morphical body.


Aldoor reparatiesImmer die Wartung,
om te blijven wie ik ben:um zu bleiben, wer ich bin:

mijn wissellichaam.mein Wechselkörper.

Poem H3398
Amsterdam, 2022-07-30
Collection: Metamorphic body
 

In sweltering heat

we sweat ever thicker crusts --


Salt suits of armour.


In de smoorhitteIn der Bruthitze
zweten we dikke korsten --schwitzen wir dicke Krusten --

Harnassen van zout.Eine Salzrüstung.

Poem H3391
Amsterdam, 2022-07-18
Collections: Moons, Life line 
 

The things my heart drives

through my body are driving --


doctors to despair.


De film van mijn hartWas mein Herz so durch
en wat in mijn bloed drijft, drijft --meinen Leib treibt, treibt Ärzte --

artsen tot wanhoop.in die Verzweiflung.

Poem H3388
Amsterdam, 2022-07-15
Not together we separate light and dark - 4 (Mustafa Stitou) - 2003
Poem "Niet samen scheiden we licht en donker" (collection "Varkensroze ansichten")
Collection: Specialities
Tribute to: Stitou, Mustafa 
 

The dancer, sliding

up the sash as if she were --


taking off her dress.


De danseres schuiftSie schiebt das Fenster
loom het raam omhoog alsof --nach oben, als würde sie --

ze haar jurk uittrekt.ihr Kleid ausziehen.

Poem H3351
Amsterdam, 2022-07-02
we never get it (Peter Verhelst) - 2003
Poem "nooit krijgen we het", series "Hotelrooms" (collection "Alaska")
Collection: Finethreads
Tribute to: Verhelst, Peter 
 

As if my body

is new, and I, again, have --


to search for the brake.


Alsof mijn lichaamAls ob mein Körper
nieuw is, en ik opnieuw moet --neu wäre, ich die Bremse --

zoeken naar de rem.noch suchen müsste.

Poem S1316
Amsterdam, 2022-01-16
Higher physics #12 (Ellen Deckwitz) - 2019
Poem (collection "Hogere natuurkunde"), page 80
Collection: Death on Cast
Tribute to: Deckwitz, Ellen 
 

In all its colours,

life keeps unfolding in us --


deep within our soul.


In al zijn kleurenDas 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

Collection: web tissue
Tribute to: Klimt, Gustav 
 

In my belly, gas

bacteria punch and rave --


wildly a party.


GasbacteriënGasbakterien
stompen en knetteren wild --boxen und toben Party --

een feest in mijn buik.wild in meinem Bauch.

Poem S1037
Amsterdam, 2020-06-19
Collection: On living on [1]
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

Zywa The training of my body

It happened by itself
the training of my body
to eat, poop, and sleep
at set times, the limits

that punish me
if I pass them
to consciously enjoy
the freedom that I didn't have

as a baby, when I was still purely
an observer of the world
a stormy place of rest
a heaven of the limits

heaven of the constellations
that I drew, my maps
of the intertwined patterns
around me, the limits

of what I knew, of what I know
safe walls with windows
if I want to go further
in my meditation

Poem 2713
Amsterdam, 2020-02-18
Collection: Secrets & Believers
 

A bang, the IC

devices are still working --


The sheets must be changed.


Een knal, de IC-Ein Knall, die IS-
apparaten werken nog --geräte sind noch aktiv --

Het bed moet verschoond.Wechsle die Laken!

Poem H2556
Amsterdam, 2019-08-26
Intestinal gas (Health Care Centre of Our Lady, location West, ICU)
Collections: On living on [1], Life line 
 

Prosperity fat

cannot escape gravity --


it sags to the grave.


Welvaartsvet ontkomtDas Fett des Wohlstands
niet aan de zwaartekracht, hangt --entkommt der Schwerkraft nicht, hängt --

omlaag naar het graf.herunter zum Grab.

Poem S0917
Amsterdam, 2019-07-12
Grand Hotel Europa (Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer) - 2018
Novel
Collection: Palace of the night
Tribute to: Pfeijffer, Ilja Leonard 
 

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 
 

Zywa Self-managed teams

Our body has a head full
of officials for problems
Efficiently and with integrity
they follow the procedures
implemented in our brains
that warn of side effects
hormone storms, agonising
tissues and neoplasm nooks

They are our brethren, keepers
against unused reserves and
calcification, guardian angels
made of providence
Problems come to light
in time in the routine
which unites our forces
to our best reason

Poem 1399
Amsterdam, 2017-06-07
Collection: On living on [2]
 

Zywa Deformed

That mix of best wishes
admiration and pity -
fermenting and bubbling in me

as soon as I see her
My stomach and throat are churning
They deform my humanity

Her eyes shoot
faster than my thoughts
her head reaches around the corner

to the sun, a rock is lying lazy
in her lower back
Shaking knees

One leg swings
around the other
feet behind each other

Her arms cry
to heaven and wring
out my powerlessness

Poem 1127
Amsterdam, 2017-03-05
A deformed woman, like a twisted horse chestnut (thanks to the torsion, all the leaves get moisture)
Collection: Pending rain
 

Sturdy skeleton

and skin, soft on the inside --


A house, a body.


Sterke huid, stevigRobustes Skelett
skelet en zacht van binnen --und Haut, das Innere weich --

Een huis, een lichaam.Ein Haus, ein Körper.

Poem H0398
Amsterdam, 2012-12-02
Collection: New Ago
 

My burnt skin is red

and hot as hell, it's screaming --


that it wants to live.


Mijn verbrande huidMeine verbrannte
is rood en hels heet, ze schreeuwt --Haut schreit rot und höllisch heiß --

dat ze wil leven.dass sie leben will.

Poem H0326
Texel, 2012-07-20
Collection: WoofWoof
 

Morning exercise:

I bend my body and wave --


my doormat limber.


Ochtendgymnastiek:Morgengymnastik:
soepel buig en wapper ik --ich biege und wedele --

ook mijn deurmat los.meine Fußmatte.

Poem H0271
Amsterdam, 2012-04-23
Collection: WoofWoof
 

I don't see, don't hear,

I don't smell, don't taste, don't feel --


I float bodyless.


Ik zie en hoor niets,Nichts sehen, hören,
ik ruik niets, proef niets, voel niets --nichts riechen, schmecken, fühlen --

ik drijf lichaamloos.körperlos schweben.

Poem H0011
Amsterdam, 2011-11-18
Koan-experience in a salt water cabin (February 19th, 2011)
Collection: Life line 
 

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