Zywa Tram on the hill

The tram on the hill sings
sound waves along its track
softly echoing off the trees
in the distance, I peer and
listen to their response

The wind carries the song
to the sky, I float along
in the full light where the owls
remain silent, their grey call
nowhere to be heard

Fortress, North and South House
Monk Village, Owl, Westfield
A humming sound, turbulence
from the platform in the cave
swallowing us up

A stalactite drips
everything shines smooth, auras
of those who lived here, echoes
of how it once was, and yet
it's just an ordinary ride

Poem 5874
Amsterdam, 2026-02-09
Current Singers (Christina Kubisch) - 2022
Composition "Stromsänger" for six voices and electronics, performed on February 8th, 2026, by five female singers of the Trondheim Voices ensemble at the Organ Park
Names of stops on the Gråkallbanen ('Grey Call Line' on the mountain Gråkallen) in Trondheim: Skansen (Fortress), Nodre Hoem (North House), Søndre Hoem (South House), Munkvoli (Monk Village), Ugla (Owl), Vestmarka (Westfield)

Collection: org anp ARK 
Composer: Kubisch, Christina 
 

People like to talk

about the required signposts --


but who is going?


Mensen praten graagDie Leute reden
over de wegwijzers, maar --gern über die Wegweiser --
wie gaat er op weg?aber wer geht los?

Poem S2095
Amsterdam, 2024-01-12
No one follows the signposts anymore (Stine Jensen) - 2024
Column "Niemand volgt de richtingaanwijzers nog" (in the NRC, January 12th, 2024)
"Pour une critique de l’économie politique du signe" and "Simulacres et Simulation" ("For a Critique of the Politicval Economy of the Sign", 1972, and "Simulacra & Simulation", 1981, Jean Baudrillard)

Collection: Actively Passive
Tribute to: Jensen, Stine; Baudrillard, Jean 
 

Downstream, three buckets

of mayonnaise are sailing --


along with our boat.


Stroomafwaarts varenFlussabwärts segeln
er emmers mayonaise --Eimer mit Mayonnaise --
mee naast onze boot.neben meinem Boot.

Poem S1958
Amsterdam, 2023-10-15
Desolation Angels (Jack Kerouac) - 1965
Book, chapter 1-2-57, written 1956: "Mayonnaise - / Mayonnaise comes in cans / down the river"
Collection: MistI
Tribute to: Kerouac, Jack 
 

There are just no ways

to our goals, we hesitate --


and saunter about.


We volgen geen wegZu Zielen gibt es
naar een doel, we aarzelen --keine Wege, man zögert --
en drentelen wat.und schlendert umher.

Poem H3957
Amsterdam, 2023-07-17
Aphorism II,4 #26: There is a goal (Franz Kafka) - 1918
"Es gibt ein Ziel, aber keinen Weg, das was wir Weg nennen ist Zögern." ("There is a goal, but no way, what we call the way is hesitation.")
Collection: Chance
 

Night sky, trees above

silent watering places --


on the motorway.


Nachthemel, bomenNachthimmel, Bäume
hoog boven de drenkplaatsen --hoch über den Trinkplätzen --
aan de autoweg.auf der Autobahn.

Poem H3312
Amsterdam, 2022-05-30
At the photo of petrol station Hendriksbos on the A28 (near Nunspeet), taken by Sander van Wettum
Collection: NightWatch
Tribute to: Van Wettum, Sander 
 

By a litter bin

in a whiff of petrol air --


we're at a standstill.


Bij een afvalbakAn den Mülleimern
in een vleug benzinelucht --in einem Hauch von Benzin --
staan we even stil.stehen wir kurz still.

Poem H3313
Amsterdam, 2022-05-30
Petrol station
Collection: Migration
 

Zywa The inside of the city

Inexperienced travellers get lost
so soon in unknown regions
They are tempted
by alleys and signals
and go down the stairs

to the inside
ignorant where they are, somewhere
for real or just romping around a little
in their heads, turned crazy
crazier craziest by their senses

which surround them with walls
that they want to touch
to know if they are hard
or that they can float
right through them at a gallop

They are looking for a hand, a body
They want to talk, fight if necessary
with someone who will grab their axis
to stop the monologue
that shrills into their ears

Poem 4126
Amsterdam, 2021-11-21
[1] Moriana, [2] Four Scenes: Monologue (Aspasia Nasopoulou) - 2017
Composition "Moriana" (2017), for cello
Composition "Four Scenes: Monologue" (2021), for voice and organ
Prose poems "Le città invisibili" ("The invisible cities", 1972, Italo Calvino)

Collection: ORG anp ark 
Tribute to: Calvino, Italo 
Composer: Nasopoulou, Aspasia 
 

Don't go anywhere,

there is a Way, you just walk --


That's living your life.


Je hoeft nergens heen,Geh nirgendwohin,
er is een Weg, je wandelt --es gibt einen Weg, du gehst --
Dat is het leven.So ist das Leben.

Poem H3086
Egmond aan Zee, 2021-10-25
The Book and the Brotherhood (Iris Murdoch) - 1987
Tao
Novel

Collection: Longing and Loss
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris 
 

Zywa Brief break on the road

A brief break on the road
too tired for a nap
or to really eat anything
Which they don't have here

It's no use
to take my coat off
I just keep that one
glove on as well

I wish I was at home, in bed
Not those bright lights, not that
endless dark night
still to go

Poem 4005
Amsterdam, 2021-10-10
Automat (Edward Hopper) - 1927
Painting
Collection: NightWatch
Tribute to: Hopper, Edward 
Dedicated to: Maria Godschalk 
 

We're walking along,

I see what you see, and I --


point out what I see.


Ik loop met je mee,Ich geh mit dir, seh,
ik zie wat jij ziet en wijs --was du siehst und ich zeige --
jou aan wat ik zie.dich was ich sehe.

Poem H3045
Amsterdam, 2021-09-16
Collection: Dearme
 

I am on my way,

with views, that's what it's about --


goals are side issues.


Ik ben onderweg,Ich bin unterwegs,
met uitzichten, dat is het --mit Aussicht, das ist's, das Ziel --
doelen zijn bijzaak.ist Nebensache.

Poem H2906
Amsterdam, 2021-02-07
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig) - 1974
Novel
Collection: Chance
Tribute to: Pirsig, Robert 
 

I am on my way,

ignorant where to, that's how --


I get the farthest.


Ik ben onderweg,Ich bin unterwegs,
onwetend waar ik uitkom --wer weiß wo, so gehe ich --
zo kom ik het verst.ja am weitesten.

Poem H2907
Amsterdam, 2021-02-07
No one rises so high as he who knows not whither he is going (Oliver Cromwell) - 1651
Oliver Cromwell's remark to Pomponne de Bellievre (quoted in the "Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz" [1717])
Collection: Chance
Tribute to: Cromwell, Oliver 
 

Climbing a mountain

you're proudly proving your worth --


But what would it be?


Je beklimt een bergBergsteigen: du denkst,
en bewijst wat je waard bent --so beweist du deinen Wert --
Maar wat is dat dan?Aber was ist es?

Poem S1137
Amsterdam, 2021-02-07
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig) - 1974
Novel
Collection: Chance
Tribute to: Pirsig, Robert 
 

Climbing a mountain

while thinking about the top --


you're nowhere at all.


Je beklimt een bergBergsteigen: du denkst
terwijl je denkt aan de top --nur an die Spitze, also --
dus je bent nergens.bist du nirgendwo.

Poem S1138
Amsterdam, 2021-02-07
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig) - 1974
Novel
Collection: Chance
Tribute to: Pirsig, Robert 
 

We do move forward,

but there is no way to go --


in the ship's cabins.


We komen vooruit,Wir gehen vorwärts,
maar we kunnen geen kant op --können aber nirgens hin --
in de scheepshutten.in den Schiffshütten.

Poem S1107
Amsterdam, 2020-12-13
The general in his labyrinth (Gabriel García Márquez) - 1989
Story "El general en su laberinto" about Simón Bolívar
Collection: Dream flight
Tribute to: García Márquez, Gabriel 
 

Our view from the train:

I ride away from the past --


she heads the future.


Uitzicht in de trein:Der Blick aus dem Zug:
ik rijd het verleden uit --ich, weg von was vorbei ist --
zij de toekomst in.sie, zu was noch kommt.

Poem S0837
Amsterdam, 2019-01-25
Couple on the train (Willem Wilmink) - 1990
Poem "Echtpaar in de trein" (collection "Moet worden gevreesd dat het nooit bestond?")
Collection: Appearances
Tribute to: Wilmink, Willem 
 

I am lost, so what

can I say? Nothing other --


than that I don't mind.


Verdwaald, wat kan ikVerirrt, was soll ich
er van zeggen? Niets dan dat --davon sagen? Nichts, nur dass --
ik het niet erg vind.es mir nichts ausmacht.

Poem H2224
Amsterdam, 2018-06-23
Electro Symphonic Orchestra (June 23rd, 2018 at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam), part 1 of block 2
Collection: Summer birds
Composer: Benders, Colin 
 

At the train station,

people are in many ways --


heading for a bed.


Op het treinstationLeute am Bahnhof,
zijn mensen zo verschillend --unterschiedlich auf dem Weg --
op weg naar een bed.zu dem einen Bett.

Poem H1730
Amsterdam, 2017-07-02
Within the skin (Han Voskuil) - 2009
Autobiographical novel "Binnen de huid" (written 1964-1967), chapter - January 10th, 1955, Amsterdam
Collection: Elude
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han 
 

What options? Which way

to go? Or just keep going?


Just walking further.


Wat zijn de opties?Was machen wir jetzt?
Welke kant op? Of gaan we?Welchen Weg? Oder vorwärts?
Zomaar wat lopen.Einfach nur laufen.

Poem H1719
Amsterdam, 2017-06-28
On closer inspection (Han Voskuil) - 1963
Autobiographical novel "Bij nader inzien" - May 4th, 1952, Amsterdam
Collection: Elude
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han 
 

The bus on the dike:

an illuminated room --


through water and night.


De bus op de dijkDer Bus auf dem Deich
is een verlichte kamer --ist ein beleuchteter Raum --
door water en nacht.durch Wasser und Nacht.

Poem H0803
Amsterdam, 2014-02-25
Enclosure Dam (M. Vasalis) - 1940
Poem "Afsluitdijk" (collection "Parken en woestijnen")
Collection: Specialities
Tribute to: Vasalis, M. 
 

 

 
Journey (ferry)
Kieler Förde, 1997-06-23
Stena Scandinavica (Kiel - Göteborg)
Collection: Photo's 1997
Dedicated to: Paul J 
 

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