Zywa Unpublished stories

Their luster gone
Increasingly, they are
falling apart, so small

have the fixed stories become
which, once sifted out
from the daily events
represented
my life and identity

And fewer people
still know the details
that make me a real person

Fortunately, I haven't become
those stories of my life and
better off with the reality
of my gradual
disappearance

Poem 5698
Amsterdam, 2025-10-21
Anecdote = a story, not given out
Collection: The Yellow House Museum
 

The older you get,

the less time there will be left --


to repeat yourself.


Hoe ouder je wordt,Ich werde älter,
hoe minder tijd je nog hebt --habe weniger Zeit für --
voor herhalingen.Wiederholungen.

Poem H5816
Amsterdam, 2025-08-12
Growing older (Frida Vogels) - 2010
Verse "Ouder worden", published in "Diary 1968-1969" - July 7th, 1969, Bologna
Collection: Between us
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida 
 

After a long time

we are back here, together --


to clear the room out.


Na lange tijd weerNach Jahren wieder
op deze kamer, samen --in diesem Raum, gemeinsam --
ontruimen we hem.räumen wir ihn aus.

Poem H5755
Amsterdam, 2025-07-29
The heat that leaked away (Frida Vogels) - 1994
Poem "De warmte die weglekte", published in the collection "De harde kern 3" ("The hard core 3", part VI [Kees], and in "Diary 1964-1965" (2008) - December 14th, 1964, Bologna (about the evacuation of mother's house on July 16th, 1957, three months after her death)
Collection: Old sore
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida 
 

Houses with closed doors,

city within the city --


Everyone is dead.


Een stad in de stad,Die Stadt in der Stadt,
huizen met dichte deuren --Häuser mit geschlossenen
Iedereen is dood.Türen. Nur Töten.

Poem H5415
Amsterdam, 2025-04-26
With a photo of the burial houses at the Rond Point Casimir Périer in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris (March 26th, 1991)
One-act play "Huis clos" ("Closed doors", 1943, Jean-Paul Sartre)

Père Lachaise

Collection: Metamorphic body
Tribute to: Sartre, Jean-Paul 
Dedicated to: Lotte W 
 

He's thin, capsizing

in the light, falling out of --


the light. No shadow.


Zijn dunne lichaamSein dünner Körper
kapseist in het licht, valt uit --kentert im Licht und fällt aus --
het licht. Geen schaduw.dem Licht. Kein Schatten.

Poem S2591
Amsterdam, 2025-03-12
Falling Man / Capsizing Man (Alberto Giacometti) - 1950
Sculpture "L'Homme qui chavire"
Collection: Blown sand
Tribute to: Giacometti, Alberto 
 

Well, she passed away,

and the next time we may not --


be alive ourselves.


Zij is dood, en deDas nächstes Mal hier
volgende keer leven we --werden wir vielleicht selbst nicht --
zelf misschien niet meer.mehr am Leben sein.

Poem H5170
Amsterdam, 2025-01-16
Travel diary 1981 (Han Voskuil) - 2000
"Reisdagboek 1981", included in the 2005 collection "Buitenschot" ("Outside shot, hikes") - Gordes, Sunday May 10th
Collection: Dirty hands
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han 
 

Are we not clay, lumps

of ochre and lime, dung heaps --


for eggs and maggots?


Zijn wij klei, kloddersSind wir Lehm, Ocker-
oker en kalk, mesthopen --und Kalkklumpen, Misthaufen --
voor vliegeneitjes?für Fliegeneier?

Poem H5076
Amsterdam, 2024-11-16
Head of Helen Gillespie - II (Frank Auerbach) - 1964
Painting
Head of Helen Gillespie - II

Collection: Metamorphic body
Tribute to: Auerbach, Frank 
 

Zywa Turning point

The Discovery, first by the doctor
then by me, my journey
along the keywords: - Harmony
(disturbed) - Understanding (my condition

could not be understood with all the
explanations and reasonable assumptions
and my intuition is blind)
- the Order (lost, everything
under the sign of the end - negative)

Growth - only Care
- and Attention, like when
my life began, but now I need
to entertain myself, go
on a diet and abandon

what I am no longer capable of, I need
Cleanliness, Calm, and Routine
need to understand the familiar
differently and drift along
in good times and in bad

keep noticing
the wonders and surrender
to the Power in which everything is
Connected

Poem 5542
Amsterdam, 2024-07-08
Collection: Metamorphic body
 

I already know

what comes after the last page:


pages that are blank.


Ik weet wat er komtIch weiß bereits, was
na de laatste bladzijde:nach der letzten Seite kommt:
lege bladzijden.Seiten, die leer sind.

Poem H4736
Amsterdam, 2024-06-30
The Enchantress of Florence (Salman Rushdie) - 2008
Novel, part 3, chapter 19
Collection: Low gear
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

The shadows are long,

I'm waiting, it's getting dark --


it's coming closer.


Lange schaduwen,Die Schatten sind lang,
ik wacht af, het wordt donker --ich warte, es wird dunkel --
het komt dichterbij.kommt immer näher.

Poem H4581
Amsterdam, 2024-03-25
Not Dark Yet (Bob Dylan) - 1997
Song (album "Time Out of Mind")
Collection: Great Flow 
Tribute to: Dylan, Bob 
 

Zywa Just so you know

I'm falling apart, believe me
it's real, and not a request
for pity, just
falling apart, cracking
like an old jar

I've been through too much
suffered too much, for now
it is going slowly
but still faster

I can't keep myself
together anymore, so be it
I just let you know
then you can come
to accept it too

I will soon be about
630 million impersonal
particles, dust
of course
without consciousness

Poem 5390
Amsterdam, 2023-11-24
Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie) - 1981
Novel, beginning of the chapter "Hit-the-spittoon"
Collection: Low gear
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

When she died, mother

was 59, I wonder --


is that old enough?


Toen mijn moeder stierfWenn meine Mutter
was ze 59 --starb, war sie 59 --
Is dat oud genoeg?Ist das alt genug?

Poem S1997
Amsterdam, 2023-11-15
Seymour (Ronelda Kamfer) - 2016
Poem (collection "Hammie")
Collection: Home sea
Tribute to: Kamfer, Ronelda 
 

I still feel quite fit,

but tired in my head, let me --


sleep, sleep forever.


Ik voel me wel fit,Ich fühle mich fit,
maar moe in mijn hoofd, laat me --nur müde im Kopf, lass mich --
slapen, inslapen.schlafen, einschlafen.

Poem H4178
Amsterdam, 2023-09-23
Collection: Metamorphic body
 

Growing old in peace,

supposed to be enjoying --


another sunset.


In vrede oud zijn,In Frieden alt sein,
van elke zonsondergang --jeden Sonnenuntergang --
moeten genieten.genießen müssen.

Poem H4045
Amsterdam, 2023-08-16
the making visible of all kinds of raids (Antjie Krog) - 2022
Poem "die sigbaarmaking van allerlei strooptogte"(collection "Plunder" ["Pillage"])
Collection: Moist glow
Tribute to: Krog, Antjie 
 

Coming to an end,

familiar shops close, closing --


my lifetime as well.


Het loopt op zijn eind,Es geht zu Ende,
vertrouwde winkels sluiten --vertraute Läden schließen --
ook mijn leven af.ja auch mein Leben.

Poem H4021
Amsterdam, 2023-08-10
Collection: Metamorphic body
 

False starts are not bad,

but awfully terrible --


is a false ending.


Een valse start isFehlstarts sind nicht schlimm,
niet erg, maar verschrikkelijk --aber wirklich entsetzlich --
is een vals einde.ist ein Fehlende.

Poem S1837
Amsterdam, 2023-07-29
The PowerBook (Jeanette Winterson) - 2000
Novel, chapter "VIEW"
Collection: Over
Tribute to: Winterson, Jeanette 
 

Be a uomo

universale at last --


and then: retirement.


Mens zijn, uomoMensch sein, uomo
universale worden --universale werden --
en dan: het pensioen.und dann: die Rente.

Poem H3676
Amsterdam, 2023-01-17
Collection: Metamorphic body
 

Zywa Happy End

The fulfillment of a wish
is a brief happiness
a happy ending

if you then die
or make a start, on something new
a next phase or a next step

For a lasting Happy End, the hereafter
has been invented
and the comfort

you derive from descendants
with the added thought that later, some day
everything will be fine

That's how it goes
without a realistic view
of universal happiness

and without the rush of an illusion
you may learn
to go with the flow

that concludes nothing

Poem 4676
Amsterdam, 2022-09-16
Collection: Metamorphic body
 

Zywa At the circus

Slowly the bell is ringing
slowly the donkeys move on
under black blankets

The covered coach is high
Up is Up and Down is Down
Crying, we carry the long train
through the circus, we change
hats, unroll the will
and stop for a group portrait

Life goes on, under drum rolls
the coach moves around, faster
and faster, hunted
by the music and salute shots
from the tuba, smoke, and fire everywhere
the fire truck comes in

Champagne and applause
We swing through the serpentines
until the light goes out

Poem 2674
Amsterdam, 2020-02-04
The clowns (Federico Fellini) - 1970
Film "I clowns"
Collection: Summer birds
Tribute to: Fellini, Federico 
 

Time flies, you're learning,

until you know what life is --


then, things will slow down.


De tijd vliegt, je leert,Die Zeit fliegt, du lernst,
totdat je het leven kent --bis du das Leben kennst, und --
dan vertraagt alles.es sich verlangsamt.

Poem H2389
Amsterdam, 2019-02-09
Proverb - 4. Our hours are minutes (Antonio Machado) - 1912
Poem, Proverbio - 4. "Nuestras horas son minutos" (collection "Campos de Castilla")
Collection: On the fly
Tribute to: Machado, Antonio 
 

Old, no appetite,

my life has been way too tough --


for rumination.


Oud, geen eetlust meer,Alt, kein Appetit,
mijn leven was veel te taai --mein Leben war viel zu zäh --
om te herkauwen.um zu durchkauen.

Poem S0813
Amsterdam, 2018-11-18
Collection: Local tardiness
 

Experience and

competence, toiled together --


And then the end comes.


Zoveel ervaringGeschuftet: so viel
heb ik bij elkaar gezwoegd --Erfahrung und Sachverstand --
En dan komt het eind.Und dann: das Ende.

Poem S0512
Amsterdam, 2017-08-09
The hard core - 1, Diary 1968-1969, and Diary 1970-1971 (Frida Vogels) - 1992
Autobiographical account "De harde kern" - 1 (1992), "Dagboek 1968-1969" (2010), and "Dagboek 1970-1971" (2011) - Autumn 1963, Bologna
Collection: Beyond the Cape
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida 
 

Zywa Dreamflight

I recognise bits of the road
connections are gone
signposts are still missing

The numbers can be counted
the seasons, homes, friends
The rest is a dream cord

of desires and parties
unrequited love
and perfect moments:

memories in the deep
black, lighting up
as floating islands

with graceful peaks
of adventures
a journey

through the abysses of the night
that make children cry
and me?

Poem 1036
Amsterdam, 2017-02-18
Attraction "Dreamflight" in the Efteling, since 1993
Collection: Greeting from before
 

The sun stopped snowing,

the wind has been drained, silence --


over the canals.


De zon sneeuwt niet meer,Kein Sonnenschnee mehr,
de wind is leeggedronken --der Wind ist ausgetrunken --
Stille kanalen.Stille Kanäle.

Poem H0666
Amsterdam, 2014-01-18
Without feet (Hans Lodeizen) - 1949
Poem "Zonder voeten" (published in "De vrije bladen" ["The free papers"], 1949, volume 20, book 5)
Collection: Moist glow
Tribute to: Lodeizen, Hans 
 

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