People observe each

other's actions, that's how they --


discuss in silence.


We volgen elkaarsWir beobachten
doen en laten, zo zijn we --einander, so, in Stille --

stil in discussie.diskutieren wir.

Poem H6294
Amsterdam, 2026-05-27
Collection: The climbing house
 

You must get closer

to make out something you can --


only see dimly.


Je moet dichterbijGeh näher dran, um
komen om wat je vaag ziet --etwas, das man nur vage --

te onderscheiden.sieht, zu erkennen.

Poem H5780
Amsterdam, 2025-08-03
The words that answer me (Frida Vogels) - 1994
Verse "De woorden die mij antwoorden", published in the collection "De harde kern 3" ("The hard core 3", part VIII [Authorship], and in "Diary 1964-1965" (2008) - December 4th, 1965, Bologna
Collections: Self-portraits, Whirligig Scribbler 
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida 
 

A movie: sitting

still, watching all kinds of lives --


you don't live yourself.


Een film: stil zittenEin Film: Stillsitzen
te kijken naar de levens --und die Leben betrachten --

die je zelf niet leidt.die man selbst nicht führt.

Poem H5568
Amsterdam, 2025-06-01
With a photo of the Eye Film Museum (May 13th, 2012, Amsterdam)

Eye Film Museum

Collection: The climbing house
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK 
 

Her pouty mouth clear-

ly shows me that she likes to --


suck on lollipops.


Haar tuitmondje maaktIhr Schmollmund macht mir
me duidelijk dat ze graag --sofort deutlich, dass sie gern --

op lolly's sabbelt.an Lollis lutscht.

Poem H5268
Amsterdam, 2025-02-22
Really sexy (Renate Dorrestein) - 2007
Novel "Echt sexy", chapter Together in the park
Collection: The climbing house
Tribute to: Dorrestein, Renate 
 

I'm invisible

when I read a poem, I'm --


eavesdropping on it.


Ik ben onzichtbaarIch bin unsichtbar,
wanneer ik een gedicht lees:wenn ich ein Gedicht lese:

ik luister het af.ich belausche es.

Poem H5050
Amsterdam, 2024-11-08
Maria Barnas on Mia You - 2024
Review of You's poetry collection "Festival" (2024), in the NRC of November 8th, 2024
Collection: Within the walls
Tribute to: Barnas, Maria; You, Mia 
 

If you watch calmly

you see people's behaviour --


is quite comical.


Als je rustig kijktSchau ruhig zu, dann
zie je dat de mensen zich --sieht man, dass sich die Menschen --

grappig gedragen.komisch verhalten.

Poem H4870
Amsterdam, 2024-08-23
The Black Prince (Iris Murdoch) - 1973
Comical novel, A Celebration of Love, part One
Collection: Dreams of love
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris 
 

I like the attic,

sitting in the armchair, in --


front of the window.


's Avonds zit ik graagAbends sitze ich
op zolder, in de fauteuil --auf dem Boden, im Sessel --

die voor het raam staat.vor dem Dachfenster.

Poem H4186
Amsterdam, 2023-09-30
The happy hunting grounds (Nanne Tepper) - 1995
Novel "De eeuwige jachtvelden" (English edition 1999), End (Fourth book)
Collection: The Note Tree
Tribute to: Tepper, Nanne 
 

It is by waiting

that you can see what the world --


has to offer you.


Juist door te wachtenIndem du wartest,
kun je zien wat de wereld --kannst du sehen, was die Welt --

je te bieden heeft.dir zu bieten hat.

Poem H4168
Amsterdam, 2023-09-17
The cloud inventory (Franco Faggiani) - 2023
Novel "L'inventario delle nuvole", § 2
Collection: Chance
Tribute to: Faggiani, Franco 
 

The bird-watcher hit

a pole in the meadow and --


now he lies in wait.


De vogelaar sloegDer Vogelwart schlug
een paal in de wei, sindsdien --einen Pfahl in die Wiese --

ligt hij op de loer.Seitdem lauert er.

Poem H3771
Amsterdam, 2023-03-23
The birds under the sky (Karl Ove Knausgard) - 2019
Novella "Fuglene under himmelen"
Collection: Writing
Tribute to: Knausgård, Karl Ove 
 

Open your third eye

to joy, passion, and sorrow:


in the theatres!


Open je derdeÖffne dein drittes
oog voor vreugde en verdriet:Auge für Freude und Leid:

in de theaters!in den Theatern!

Poem H3632
Amsterdam, 2022-12-31
The third eye (Friedrich Nietzsche) - 1881
Passage "Das dritte Auge" (#509) im 4. Buch von: "Morgenröte. Gedanken über die moralischen Vorurteile" (Passage "The third eye" in book 4 of: "The Dawn of Day - Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality")
Collection: On the fly
Tribute to: Nietzsche, Friedrich 
 

I suspect a cow

in the meadow at night, there --


the black spots that move.


Ik vermoed een koeKuh, vermute ich,
in de wei 's avonds laat, daar --abends in der Wiese, dort --

die zwarte vlekken.die schwarzen Flecken.

Poem H3492
Amsterdam, 2022-10-08
Cow - VI (Rutger Kopland) - 2008
Poem "Koe" - VI (collection "Toen ik dit zag")
Collection: Moist glow
Tribute to: Kopland, Rutger 
 

Children take notice

of naked people and sex --


That's their innocence.


Kinderen lettenKinder achten auf
op blote mensen en seks --nackte Menschen und Sex, das --

Dat is hun onschuld.ist ihre Unschuld.

Poem H3474
Amsterdam, 2022-09-28
Collection: Without reserve
 

Being objective

is easy, less scary as --


being subjective.


Objectief zijn isObjektiv sein ist
gemakkelijk, niet zo eng --einfach, nicht so gruselig --

als subjectief zijn.wie subjektiv sein.

Poem H3369
Amsterdam, 2022-07-08
Like it or not - Faxing to Ger #4 (Nicolien Mizee) - 2021
Diary-novel "Hoog en laag springen - Faxen aan Ger #4"
Collection: In the shadow
Tribute to: Mizee, Nicolien 
 

Most people I see

in the course of my life --


I only see once.


De meeste mensenDie meisten Leute,
die ik zie in mijn leven --die ich im Leben sehe --

zie ik maar één keer.seh ich nur einmal.

Poem H3205
Amsterdam, 2022-02-19
Interview with Erik Bindervoet - 2022
Interview in nrc, February 19th,2022
Have a good look

Collection: On the fly
Tribute to: Bindervoet, Erik 
 

At night I'm looking

inside, I see people weep --


and I do not weep.


's Nachts loop ik rond, kijkNachts seh ich hinein,
binnen bij de mensen, zie --seh ich die Leute weinen --

geween en ween niet.und weine ich nicht.

Poem H3035
Overberg, 2021-09-06
Bruno's Dream (Iris Murdoch) - 1969
Novel
Collection: Dreams of love
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris 
 

I get to know him,

simply by watching his ways --


of hiding himself.


Ik leer hem kennen,Ihn kennen, schauend
kijkend naar zijn manieren --auf seine Art und Weisen --

van zich verbergen.sich zu verstecken.

Poem H2816
Amsterdam, 2020-10-28
Self-defense (Marijke Schermer) - 2016
Novel "Noodweer"
Collection: Shelter
Tribute to: Schermer, Marijke 
 

Zywa Passing by

I pass by, a passer-by
postponing passing
to stand still
and read

I hear sounds, I see people
a known world, a story
in which I recognize something
of myself, as in a photo

Curiously I look
for the poetess, she is seated
in her verses, peeking
I push them aside

Who would she be without?
A heart, an oracle
that extends my view
and throws it on other lives?

Poem 2262
Amsterdam, 2019-06-09
Collection: The light of words
 

They're always swimming,

but fish do move even more --


outside the water.


Vissen zwemmen steeds,Ein Fisch schwimmt, aber
maar ze bewegen nog meer --er bewegt sich außerhalb --

buiten het water.des Wassers noch mehr.

Poem S0882
Train Amsterdam-Vlissingen, 2019-06-04
Maurits and the facts (Gerrit Krol) - 1986
Novel "Maurits en de feiten", § 2
Collection: Rasping ants
Tribute to: Krol, Gerrit 
 

Zywa Hamsa

Eyes pass me with a greeting
eyes hang still in the streets
and shopping lanes, eyes fly

around the earth
eyes are watching
around important bodies

alert eyes
that protect, willing
to restrict others

I defend myself
and ward them off
with the hand on my heart

an eye for an eye
beware, I look back
even when I'm not looking

Poem 2172
Amsterdam, 2019-03-21
Hamsa = five, the amulet "hand of Fatima", originally "hand of Inanna" (Sumer, 5000 BCE), then "hand of Ishtar" (Akkad, 2300 BC); Jews used the hand against the evil eye
Collection: Mosaic virus
 

Zywa Ravens on my shoulders

Ravens on my shoulders
to show me the way and to call
people to meet them

The boy who is drawing on the beach
with colourful stones, twice a day
recounting them before he leaves

knowing that
the flood comes with waves
that will live longer than he

The man in the rooms full of tables
with quartz crystals from the countries
where he was looking for holiness and love

knowing that he can build a house
with what he has received for nothing
from the earth that is his mother

The little sister who sleeps
between the legs of the horse
of her desires, warm

under his breathing canopy
balancing her dreams
like stacked stones

Poem 1966
Amsterdam, 2018-12-05
Collection: New Ago
 

Zywa Everything moves (in the back of the bike)

In the back of the bike
I learn to read
I get a map full

of names of roads
that I miss up to beyond
the horizon of the earth

In the back of the bike
I learn to kiss and to be alone
in springs and unseasonable times

In the back of the bike
of my senses I construct how
everything moves and I myself

move along while I sit still
in my feelings and think
everything moves

Poem 1854
Amsterdam, 2018-09-30
Collection: Lilith's Powers
 

You find your own laws

of nature, because you choose --


your observations.


Je vindt je eigenNaturgesetzen
natuurwetten, want je kiest --findet man selbst, man wählt aus --

wat je observeert.was man observiert.

Poem H2189
Amsterdam, 2018-06-18
A Frisian does not cry (Gerrit Krol) - 1980
Novel "Een Fries huilt niet", chapter 2.2
Collection: Appearances
Tribute to: Krol, Gerrit 
 

Portrait in profile:

you follow your own thoughts and --


you don't look at me.


Portret en profil:Porträt im Profil:
jij volgt eigen gedachten --du folgst deinen Gedanken --

en kijkt niet naar mij.und schaust mich nicht an.

Poem H1864
Amsterdam, 2017-11-14
Two portraits, one en face, one en profil (Frida Vogels) - 2008
Verse "Twee portretten, een en face, een en profil", published in "Diary 1964-1965" - March 5th, 1965, Bologna (about Kees)
Collection: Self-portraits
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida 
 

Look carefully, then

you'll see plenty to laugh at --


From your watch tower.


Als je maar goed kijktSchau genau hin, und
zie je veel om te lachen --du findest viel zum Lachen --

Vanuit je toren.Von deinem Turm aus.

Poem S0474
Amsterdam, 2017-04-16
The Office - Mister Beerta (Han Voskuil) - 1996
Novel "Het Bureau - Meneer Beerta" - 1961
Collection: Dirty hands
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han 
 

In a flash I saw

the cup slide off the table:


in the falling break.


Nog net zag ik hetIm letzten sah ich
kopje van tafel glijden:die Tasse vom Tisch rutschen:

in de valpauze.in der Fallpause.

Poem H1500
Amsterdam, 2016-09-27
Falling (Esther Gerritsen) - 2016
Column "Vallen" (VPRO-gids #40)
Collection: Rasping ants
Tribute to: Gerritsen, Esther 
 

A door is opened

and things remain what they are --


but differently.


Een deur gaat openEin Tor öffnet sich,
en alles blijft wat het is --alles bleibt das, was es ist --

maar totaal anders.aber ganz anders.

Poem H1191
Amsterdam, 2015-07-03
Maritime Ode (Álvaro de Campos) - 1915
Poem "Ode marítima" (Fernando Pessoa)
Collection: On the fly
Tribute to: De Campos, Alvaro; Pessoa, Fernando 
 

The waves rolling round,

in wild curls, steady and flat --


is the horizon.


De golven rollenDie Wellen rollen
rond in wilde krullen, strak --rund in wilden Locken, flach --

blijft de horizon.bleibt der Horizont.

Poem H0612
Amsterdam, 2013-10-07
Collection: WoofWoof
 

The window steams up,

and I read: I'm also there --


when you can't see it.


De ruiten beslaan,Das Fenster beschlägt,
en er staat: ik ben er ook --ich lese: ich bin da, auch --

als je het niet ziet.wenn du es nicht siehst.

Poem H0608
Amsterdam, 2013-10-06
Collection: I am
 

The birds fly with me

in the same direction, if --


I look short enough.


De vogels vliegenDie Vögel fliegen
dezelfde kant op als ik --mit mir in gleicher Richtung --

maar kort genoeg kijk.wenn ich kurz hin schau.

Poem S0067
Amsterdam, 2012-07-15
Collection: Local traffic
 

Leopards
are observing
Leopards
I too am an observer

I give meaning to what I see :
I want to learn from others
n226    n245    n254
Tijger
 

 

 
Observation
Iráklio, 1989-05-04
Pier
Collection: Photo's 1989
 

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