Zywa

Should life be not too

pleasant? Would happiness be --

beneath my level?



Mag het leven niet	Sollte das Leben
te aangenaam zijn? Is dat --	nicht angenehm sein? Ist das --

beneden mijn stand?	unter meinem Stand?

Poem S3239
Amsterdam, 2026-08-25
Then Mother came with a knife (Nicolien Mizee) - 2003
Novel "Toen kwam moeder met een mes", chapter 10
Collection: In the light
Tribute to: Mizee, Nicolien

Goodness is steady,

beauty is fleeting, it lasts --

the blink of an eye.



Goedheid is blijvend,	Güte: beständig,
schoonheid is vluchtig, ze duurt --	Schönheit: flüchtig, sie währt nur --

maar een ogen-blik.	einen Augen-Blick.

Poem S2725
Amsterdam, 2025-06-19
Poem-fragment E.58 (Sappho) - -650
From the "Lyra Graeca" (1922-1927, John Maxwell Edmonds)
Collection: On the fly
Composer: Sappho

If it is called a

challenge, a virtue is made --

of necessity.



Iets als uitdaging	Herausforderung
bestempelen is een deugd --	heißt, dass eine Tugend aus --

maken van een nood.	ein Not gemacht wird.

Poem H5195
Amsterdam, 2025-01-23
Don't leave me alone (Renate Dorrestein) - 2008
Essay "Laat me niet alleen", chapter "Step Three: Let's act young"
Collection: On the fly
Tribute to: Dorrestein, Renate

I am so ashamed

of the nature of people --

Am I one of them?



Steeds weer schaam ik me	Ich schäme mich so
voor de aard van de mensen --	für die Natur der Menschen --

Hoor ik daar echt bij?	Bin ich genauso?

Poem H4757
Amsterdam, 2024-07-10
Shame (Salman Rushdie) - 1983
Novel / Exposition with stories, part 3, chapter 7 Blushing
Sufiya Zenobia Hyder is so pure that she constantly blushes out of shame
Pakistan = Land of the Paks, the Clean People / Pure People (pious people)
Collection: Shadows
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman

Human intellect

is the natural basis --

of all righteousness.



Het menselijke	Menschlicher Verstand
verstand is het fundament --	ist der natürliche Grund --

van deugdzaam gedrag.	der Rechtschaffenheit.

Poem H4522
Amsterdam, 2024-02-16
The Golden House (Salman Rushdie) - 2017
Novel, chapter (2-) 16
Synderesis: general moral sense of persons (the rational soul); originally an incorrect copy of the word syneidesis (conscience)
Collection: Wind
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman

Too bad, he only

does his duty, I would like --

him to be a saint.



Jammer, hij doet slechts	Schade, er tut nur
zijn plicht, ik had graag dat hij --	seine Pflicht, ich möchte, er --

een heilige was.	sei ein Heiliger.

Poem S2107
Amsterdam, 2024-01-23
Outsiders (Renate Dorrestein) - 1983
Novel "Buitenstaanders", § 3
Collection: Lack
Tribute to: Dorrestein, Renate

Do I prefer to

remember, forget, forgive --

or be forgiven?



Wil ik gedenken	Ob gedenken, ob
vergeten, vergeven, of --	vergessen? Vergeben, ob --

vergeven worden?	vergeben werden?

Poem H3963
Amsterdam, 2023-07-21
The seven moons of Maali Almeida (Shehan Karunatilaka) - 2022
Novel
Collection: Finethreads
Tribute to: Karunatilaka, Shehan

I wanted to learn,

to live a sensible life --

only out of love.



Ik wilde leren,	Ich wollte lernen,
om verstandig te leven --	um vernünftig zu leben --

enkel uit liefde.	einfach aus Liebe.

Poem H3052
Amsterdam, 2021-10-03
Collection: The Yellow House Museum

Ethics is the will

to react to what you see:

the beautiful world !



Ethiek is willen	Ethik ist handeln
handelen naar wat je ziet:	wollen nach dem, was man sieht:

de wereld is mooi !	dass die Welt schön ist !

Poem S1227
Overberg, 2021-09-04
The Italian Girl (Iris Murdoch) - 1964
Novel
Collection: Dreams of love
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris

Zywa Live/Through

Living a bad life
of being wronged
and still wanting to live
- even without hope

Endure the misery
support fellow sufferers
and occasionally enjoy
the surroundings

and a story of the luxury
to have enough despite
the fumbling and the bungling
that always crosses people

My guilty life
of powerlessness, not letting
my family go short, and soon
consuming more than necessary

Also nearby, there are people suffering
and dying nearby, and I live, I want
to make the best of it
and hope for better

We repeat stories
that call us beautiful, courageous
or good, complicit only
to our humanity

Poem 3894
Amsterdam, 2021-07-16
Collection: On living on [2]

All virtues are bright,

but justice mixes things up --

into a brown truth.



Deugden zijn helder,	Tugenden sind hell,
maar gerechtigheid mengt bruin --	Gerechtigkeit mischt alles --

alles door elkaar.	braun durcheinander.

Poem H2987
Amsterdam, 2021-07-11
Nuns and Soldiers (Iris Murdoch) - 1980
Novel
Collection: Longing and Loss
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris

I'm decent, I am

practising a few virtues --

It's a lot of work!



Ik ben fatsoenlijk,	Ich bin anständig,
ik heb enkele deugden --	mit einigen Tugenden --

en dat is veel werk!	Es ist viel Arbeit!

Poem H2989
Amsterdam, 2021-07-11
Nuns and Soldiers (Iris Murdoch) - 1980
Novel
Collection: Longing and Loss
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris

Be wise, do your best,

even though you get small thanks:

give what you are worth.



Je best doen is wijs,	Mach ja dein Bestes,
ook al krijg je stank voor dank:	obwohl du Undank bekommst:

geef wat je waard bent.	gib, was du wert bist.

Poem H2979
Amsterdam, 2021-07-06
The Tenth Commandment (Kent M. Keith) - 1968
Text: Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.
Collection: Wean Di
Tribute to: Keith, Kent M.

Philosophy does

not help you to become learned --

but to be virtuous.



Filosofie helpt	Philosophie hilft
je niet aan geleerdheden --	nicht gelehrt zu sein, sondern --

maar aan deugdzaamheid.	tugendhaft zu sein.

Poem H2897
Amsterdam, 2021-01-20
Meditations 5:9 (Marcus Aurelius) - 180
Collection "Ta eis heauton" - 5:9 ("Things to one's self" / "Meditations")
Collection: Known
Tribute to: Aurelius, Marcus

Zywa Ripples [2]

Children attract me
I want to be touched
feel their energy
bumping into me

and I want to bounce back
push my soul against them
as a caress

The elderly at the social club touch me
their presence and their smile
warm me, the understanding
the wink of a telling word
the wisdom of their wrinkles

I have girlfriends
I make contact, I throw myself
into the water, the waves
touch them and the whole world
in a wide circle

the ripples lightly press on people
I only meet briefly, more deeply
into those who know my name

and always something springs back
always something gets in, something
of who I am, no one can escape
the fact that I exist

Poem 3388
Amsterdam, 2021-01-18
Staring at the Sun: overcoming the terror of death (Irvin Yalom) - 2008
"Ripple effect" (multiplied reactions)
Collection: Lilith's Powers
Tribute to: Yalom, Irvin
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk

Zywa Ideal-real

Sometimes I dream of a new start
a new world, the earth
without human vices

only divine births
of helpfulness and wisdom
so that those words become obsolete

finally no more auditions
of imaginary comedians
with endless filth

their bundling of centuries
of coercion, humiliation, and abuse
in the joke of The Aristocrats

A world without me
only plants, animals
and avatars as a kind

of people who walk the virtual reality
of the golden means
of Aristotle

Poem 3120
Amsterdam, 2020-07-13
Virtus = virtue
Virtual = ideal-real
"The Aristocrats": outdo each other with taboo-breaking jokes
Avatara = descent = the incarnation of a deity descending to restore the cosmic order
In the virtue ethics of Aristotle (384-322), virtue is the golden mean between two opposite possibilities
Collection: PumicePieces
Dedicated to: Godfrey N

I do know evil,

and I know it way too well --

to refrain from it.



Ik ken het kwade,	Ich kenn' das Böse,
en ik ken het veel te goed --	und ich kenn' es viel zu gut --

om het te laten.	um es zu lassen.

Poem S1047
Amsterdam, 2020-07-03
Confessions (Augustinus) - 400
"Confessiones"
Augustine (Thagaste [Algeria] 354-430), bishop of Hippo 396-430
Collection: Willegos
Tribute to: Augustinus

Zywa Moving side-wards

We admire the starry sky
the flourishing earth and ourselves
and we conclude: God

is incapable of creating
something improvable
so mankind must be good

Our morals don't go backwards
or forwards, nor up or down
but left and right, side-wards

to and fro, from person to person
between hard and soft, joys and sorrows
young and old, wise and stupid

busy every day
to take care of ourselves
and to be a good neighbour

Poem 2179
Amsterdam, 2019-03-24
Collection: The drama

Zywa The martial art of virtue

I may sit on the couch
complaining that it isn't right
however I do my best

to understand it
like so many people
who are not afraid

and yet do not dare
to rely on themselves
I may dream more

than that I pay attention and
put into practice what I know
not making decisions and

living an insignificant life
but I prefer to act as if
everything is important to me

Thoughts are not virtues
and virtues are no thoughts
or superpositional patterns

but magical moments
in visible reality:
my energy

Poem 2057
Amsterdam, 2019-01-26
Collection: I am

Zywa Female knight

It is my destiny
to be a female knight
awakened in a dark tomb
my soul draws drops of the deep sea
up from the earth

into a fountain of love
which lifts me to float
to the light

It is my destiny
to be a female knight, young
without blemish on my soul
which hangs within me waiting
for reports of a distress

too bad
to check off unseen
I must take action

It is my destiny
to be a female knight, I intervene
and impetuously turn the odds
with superpowers
of good will

Poem 2034
Amsterdam, 2019-01-17
Tristan's ascension (Bill Viola) - 2005
Video for a performance of Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde"
Collection: Migration

We are good and bad:

be concerned with you own worth --

not with what Í do.



We zijn goed en slecht:	Achte auf deinen
let op wat je zelf waard bent --	eigenen Wert, nicht darauf --

niet op wat ík doe.	was andere tun.

Poem S0786
Amsterdam, 2018-09-14
The eternal living Ancient One / The king needs a lifetime (Hafez) - 1350
Ghazal (Ode) 78
Collection: Wean Di
Tribute to: Hafez

In between my Past

and my Later lives my soul --

free to do good deeds.



Tussen mijn Voorbij	Zwischen Vorbei und
en mijn Later leeft mijn ziel --	Später lebt meine Seele --

vrij om goed te doen.	frei, Gutes zu tun.

Poem H2017
Zandvoort aan Zee, 2018-02-02
Aleph (Paulo Coelho) - 2010
Novel "O Aleph"
Collection: Em Brace
Tribute to: Coelho, Paulo

Zywa Without reserve [2]

Is being an adult: following
your own path in order to
meet each other's needs?
    Not hiding under someone
    else's skirt like a child

Is being an adult: seeing
what needs to be done and
doing something about it yourself?
    Not leaving the burdens and
    suffering of life with others

Is being an adult: being amazed
when nudity does not disarm
and enable tenderness?
    A body, a human being, eyes
    pleading - afraid or receptive

Poem 1600
Amsterdam, 2017-11-05
Collection: Without reserve

Zywa The good I receive

Non-believers too
have everything - received:
the world, my life, your life
and the duty to help each other
Everything else is possible

nothing else can go right or wrong
In all languages we wish each other
peace and happiness, the good:

It is our chance and our mission
it is my name, which I don't want to exchange
and certainly wouldn't want to lack
from her clear mouth she's an angel
everyone hears it, non-believers too

Poem 1588
Amsterdam, 2017-10-29
For Taoufik D
Toba [Hebrew] = good >> Tobiah = the goodness of God >> Tawfik/Tevfik/Togiq/Taoufik = the ability or opportunity to achieve success
Collection: Metamorphic body
Dedicated to: Taoufik D

Out of my kindness

I do things big, learn from me:

small is good enough.



Uit goedheid doe ik	Aus Güte mach ich
alles graag groot, leer van mij:	alles groß, lerne von mir:

klein is goed genoeg.	klein ist gut genug.

Poem H1587
Amsterdam, 2016-11-05
Tom Puss and The Overdoer (Marten Toonder) - 1964
Comic strip #105 - Tom Poes en De grootdoener (tiers 5056-5077 and 2090-5140), tier 5140
Collection: Puss & Lord
Tribute to: Toonder, Marten


Peacocks
are born with feathers and a crown

I too am special

I am proud of myself :


I am not haughty

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