Zywa Love for two

I experience ancient statues
structures, and drawings
as a mystery:

that they could make this!
And the people of those times
thought the same way

that it was almost divine
But the creators had to
forgo the highest praise

lest they be punished
by a jealous deity
challenging them

and making them suffer
even in love, the faithful love
that most gods do not know

and that they do not give to others
because human happiness in love
would make themselves superfluous

Poem 6054
Amsterdam, 2026-06-14
Idyll I (Theocritus) - -260
Theocritus (Syracuse) wrote this poem about the cowherd Daphnis, who wants to be faithful to his wife and dies from his desire for another woman
Collection: Froend
Tribute to: Theocritus 
 

Zywa The smell of the evening

It is not just about us
it is about everyone's vow, which
sometimes shortly, sometimes years
after the feast

does not always seem to apply
but, as one grows older
regains its strength
in the smell

of the eternal fields
wafting towards you at the graves -
the smell of alarm
that brings me to my senses

after your futile waiting
for my love while
I was far outside the light
with another

not with you
not at home
not with the children
not even with myself

Poem 6045
Amsterdam, 2026-06-11
Of Asphodel, That Greeny Flower (William Carlos Williams) - 1962
Poem (collection "Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems") - [Book 1]
Asphodels are poisonous

Collection: Froend
Tribute to: Williams, William Carlos 
 

Did I then promise

fidelity to yóu? No --


He was different.


Heb ik trouw beloofdHab ich dir Treue
aan jou? Nee, dat was jij niet --versprochen? Nein, dir doch nicht --

Die man was anders.Er war ganz anders.

Poem S3083
Amsterdam, 2026-02-17
Night is the mother of day (Lars Norén) - 1982
Theatre play "Natten är dagens mor", 3rd act, 4.45-9.30 pm
Collection: Within the walls
Tribute to: Norén, Lars 
 

She has to leave me

against her will, and now our --


love shackles us both.


Tegen haar wil moetSie muss abreisen,
ze weggaan, en nu ketent --und nun fesselt uns beide --

onze liefde ons.unsere Liebe.

Poem S2726
Amsterdam, 2025-06-19
Poem-fragment E.83 (Sappho) - -650
From the "Lyra Graeca" (1922-1927, John Maxwell Edmonds)
Collection: May the Might
Composer: Sappho 
 

I cannot marry

you, but forever I will --


love you and be yours.


Ik kan niet trouwenHeiraten kann ich
met jou, maar voor altijd zal --dich nicht, aber für immer --

ik de jouwe zijn.werde ich dein sein.

Poem S2534
Amsterdam, 2025-01-28
I shall soon leave you now (Matteo Noris / Antonio Vivaldi) - 1719
Air "Ti lascerei, gl'affretti miei" ("I shall soon leave you now" [as one condemned to death by my father, marry him now instead of me], 1719, Matteo Noris, music Antonio Vivaldi, RV 738/778), from the opera "Tito Manlio" ("Titus Manlius"), 3rd act, scene 9 - Tito's son Manlio (soprano in travesti)
Collection: Love Mind and Death
Tribute to: Noris, Matteo 
Composer: Vivaldi, Antonio 
 

No, I won't borrow

your love from anyone else --


Give all or nothing!


Ik wil jouw liefdeIch möchte deine
niet van een ander lenen --Liebe nicht leihen, gib mir --

Geef alles of niets!alles oder nichts!

Poem S2327
Amsterdam, 2024-08-28
Love me or leave me (Gus Kahn / Nina Simone) - 1928
Song (lyrics Gus Kahn, music Walter Donaldson, for the musical "Whoopee!"), sung in 1957 by Nina Simone (album "Little Girl Blue", 1959)
Collection: Tardiness in Acceleration
Tribute to: Kahn, Gus; Simone, Nina 
 

Darling, where are you?

Let me know, don't be ashamed --


because I'm coming!


Liefste, waar ben je?Liebling, wo bist du?
Laat het weten, schaam je niet --Sag es mir, schäme dich nicht --

Ik ben al op weg!denn ich komme schon!

Poem H4787
Amsterdam, 2024-07-19
Porgy's lament: "Bess, o where's my Bess?" and "O Lawd, I'm on my way" (Edwin DuBose Heyward / George Gershwin) - 1935
Double song (Porgy, lyrics Edwin DuBose Heyward) from the opera "Porgy and Bess" (libretto [1935] and novel [1925] and play "Porgy" [1927] by Edwin DuBose Heyward)
Collection: Em Brace
Tribute to: Gershwin, Ira; DuBose Heyward, Edwin 
Composer: Gershwin, George 
 

Darling, you can die

peacefully, you'll stay with me --


cradled in my heart.


Liefste, wees niet bangHab doch keine Angst
te sterven, je blijft bij mij --vor dem Tod, ich wiege dich --

wiegend in mijn hart.in meinem Herzen.

Poem H4786
Amsterdam, 2024-07-18
Solveig's cradle song (Henrik Ibsen / Edvard Grieg) - 1867
Play (music 1876), fifth act, "Solveigs vuggevise" ("Solveig's cradle song")
Collection: VacantVoid
Tribute to: Ibsen, Henrik 
Composer: Grieg, Edvard 
 

Zywa Sun, Clouds, Star

We went wild, so happy
with each other, so happy
to have found each other
to have found love
true love, for you and me

My love for you is still there
you can see it shining
wherever you are, let the sun
of your activities go down
and blow away the clouds of your worries
then you'll see it, see me
with you again


I lived with my friends
until I met you
and you turned out
to give me more than they do
and I want to give that to you too

My love for you is still there
you can see it shining
wherever you are, let the sun
of your activities go down
and blow away the clouds of your worries
then you'll see it, see me
with you again

Poem 5311
Amsterdam, 2023-09-28
Star (Mitski) - 2023
Song (album "The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We")
Collection: Reaching out
Tribute to: Mitski (Miyawaki, Mitski) 
 

Zywa I want to go to the moon

My tent has a hole
at the top, that's the moon
which always shines
Before me, after me

Moon, you have room, right?
Tell me, do you have a place
for my heart?
Then, I'll come

to you
when I die, I will
to let my love shine
together with you

One day I'll have to leave
everything behind
and none of it is mine
except my love
which is mine, all mine


for my loved one here on earth
That's why I hope
I can shine on him
with you later

Nothing is mine
except my love
which is mine
all mine
all mine

Poem 5309
Amsterdam, 2023-09-26
My Love Mine All Mine (Mitski) - 2023
Song (album "The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We")
Collection: Reaching out
Tribute to: Mitski (Miyawaki, Mitski) 
 

Can love heal my heart,

wanting to be here with you --


and longing for her?


Kan liefde mijn hartKann Liebe mein Herz
helen, dat bij jou wil zijn --heilen, das bei dir und auch --

en toch ook bij haar?bei ihr sein möchte?

Poem S1839
Amsterdam, 2023-07-31
The PowerBook (Jeanette Winterson) - 2000
Novel, chapter "HELP"
Collection: Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the years 2000-2009
Tribute to: Winterson, Jeanette 
 

Old love: smouldering

fire, or a layer of ice --


quickly freezing on?


Vlamt oude liefdeAlte Liebe: schwelt
op, of is het een ijslaag --sie, oder ist sie doch Eis --

die snel weer aanvriest?das sehr leicht anfriert?

Poem H3913
Amsterdam, 2023-07-02
The wrinkles of Esther Ornstein - The history of a neglect (Simon Vestdijk) - 1959
Novel "De rimpels van Esther Ornstein - De geschiedenis van een verzuim", chapter 3-1 (AD 1922)
Collection: Inmost [1]
Tribute to: Vestdijk, Simon 
 

The wedding vow seals

your fantastic love dreams like --


a sarcophagus.


De huwelijkseedDie Eheschließung
bezegelt liefdesdromen --besiegelt Liebesträume --

als een sarcofaag.wie ein Sarkophag.

Poem H3921
Amsterdam, 2023-07-02
The wrinkles of Esther Ornstein - The history of a neglect (Simon Vestdijk) - 1959
Novel "De rimpels van Esther Ornstein - De geschiedenis van een verzuim", chapter 3-4 (AD 1922)
Collection: Inmost [1]
Tribute to: Vestdijk, Simon 
 

I'm very faithful

to her, heaven is surprised:


so soporific!


Ik ben haar heel trouw,Ich bin ihr sehr treu,
de hemel kijkt ervan op:der Himmel macht Augen: so --

zo slaapverwekkend!maßlos langweilig!

Poem H3873
Amsterdam, 2023-06-22
The cup of love - The history of a first year (Simon Vestdijk) - 1956
Roman "De beker van de min - De geschiedenis van een eerste jaar", chapter 3-1 [1918]
Collection: Inmost [1]
Tribute to: Vestdijk, Simon 
 

It's best to marry

someone who will not hurt you --


when you get divorced.


Het beste trouw jeHeirate möglichst
met wie jou geen pijn zal doen --den, der dich nicht weh tun wird --

als jullie scheiden.mit ihrer Scheidung.

Poem S1308
Amsterdam, 2022-01-04
Beside Myself (Marianna Salzmann) - 2017
Novel "Außer sich", chapter 'Danja and Emma'
Collection: Tightrope walk
Tribute to: Salzmann, Marianna 
 

Love is pliable,

you cannot build with it, but --


you can build on it.


Liefde is plooibaar,Liebe ist biegsam,
je kunt er niet mee bouwen --du kannst nicht damit bauen --

wel erop bouwen.wohl darauf bauen.

Poem H2959
Amsterdam, 2021-05-16
The Lonely Life: An Autobiography" (Bette Davis) - 1962
Collection: Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the years 1960-1979
Tribute to: Davis, Bette 
 

Who knows where you are,

I do not need to know, I --


love you anyway.


Wie weet waar jij bent,Wer weiß, wo du bist,
ik hoef het niet te weten --ich muss es nicht wissen, ich --

ik houd toch van jou.liebe dich trotzdem.

Poem H2900
Amsterdam, 2021-01-22
Collection: Without reserve
 

Might fidelity

be: pretending love, hoping --


it will get better?


Is trouw doen alsofGibt die Treue vor
je van elkaar houdt, hopend --zu lieben, in der Hoffnung --

dat het beter wordt?dass es besser wird?

Poem S0981
Amsterdam, 2019-12-29
Love is a duty of formality (Henk Bressers) - 2019
Submitted letter "Liefde is vormenplicht", included in the article "Hoe voorkomt u dat uw huwelijk in de scheidingsstatistieken belandt?" ("How do you prevent your marriage from ending up in the divorce statistics?"), published in the NRC of December 24th, 2019
Collection: Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the years 2010-2019
Tribute to: Bressers, Henk 
 

Zywa Autumn sun

Because I feel that
we still love each other
at a distance, I dare

after the tour through the garden
the last honeysuckle smell and
drinking unclarified apple juice

together in the autumn sun
to ask you:
How are we

now, our love
how close are we still
heart to heart?

Would we, living in the same
house, also have gone
different paths?

In what spring will we
receive our children
after this winter?

Poem 2513
Amsterdam, 2019-11-17
Collection: More
Dedicated to: Sylvia F C 
 

Being together

for a lifetime: call it love --


if it has been love.


Een heel leven langDas ganze Leben
samen zijn: noem het liefde --zusammen sein: nenn's Liebe --

als het liefde was.wenn es Liebe war.

Poem H2512
Amsterdam, 2019-06-28
Love, if it is so (Marijke Schermer) - 2019
After the book title "Liefde, als dat het is" (novel)
Collection: Loves Tricks Gains Pains in the years 2010-2019
Tribute to: Schermer, Marijke 
 

His eyes are shining

with love, I can see the tears --


that he does not show.


Zijn ogen blinkenLiebe: glänzende
van liefde, ik zie tranen --Augen, ich sehe Tränen --

die hij niet laat zien.die er noch nicht zeigt.

Poem H2287
Vaison-la-Romaine, 2018-09-19
Atlas shrugged (Ayn Rand) - 1957
Novel, part 2 'Either - Or', chapter 9 'The face without pain or fear or guilt'
Collection: Willegos
Tribute to: Rand, Ayn 
 

Zywa After the years of romance

I just let the pointless anger
rage around in my head
and bang the door

behind my sadness
searching for a way out
of your incomprehension

which I can not bear
I am suffering, knowing not
to be a child, you not my mother

who could read my face
whether open or closed
We have to take pains:

married love, wanting
to go together through life
under a yoke, not running away

after the years of romance

Poem 1558
Amsterdam, 2017-09-25
iugum = yoke
coniunx = spouse, "joined together"

Collection: Without reserve
 

On my long journey

I am living in my thoughts --


of the love we share.


Op mijn lange reisAuf meiner Reise
woon ik in mijn gedachten --wohne ich in Gedanken --

aan onze liefde.an meine Liebe.

Poem H0009
Amsterdam, 2011-11-18
Collection: The Big Secret
 

Zywa Moving along

With flushes of a springtime burn we sat
together on the beach, and I remember that
my little sister wore a fancy hat

Her breast stripped half, for feeding, she
intensely watched the baby on her knee
and with a wink she shared this love with me

She added: being faithful is a free choice

Was this some kind of spoiler
telling love is less than pleasure?
I hardly could believe her

and quickly looked at her husband for a clue
but having no experience, a good thing too
I did not dare to ask: is it true?

Can being faithful really always be a free choice?

I saw the puppies run around and play
saw castle walls, been built and washed away
And red briefs were a flapping flag on top of the day

I lay and thought about what she
had said, and asked myself when would it be
the end of love, inevitably

if being faithful is an option and a free choice

I saw relationships as quite a safe adventure
of looking for a sort of structure
of moving with each other, at the wheel together

but every kiss of love for its eternity
sets out to travel, wants to fly and easily
seduces someone else, occasionally

for being faithful always is a free choice

Poem 103
Amsterdam, 2008-05-04
Love is just a four-letter word (Bob Dylan / Joan Baez) - 1967
Song, not recorded by Bob Dylan; sung by Joan Baez on the 1968 album "Any Day Now"
Collection: Great Flow 
Tribute to: Dylan, Bob; Baez, Joan 
 

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