People who bet think

they really know a fair bit --


about chance and fate.


Mensen die weddenLeute, die wetten,
denken heel wat te weten --glauben, sie wissen über --
van toeval en lot.Zufall und Schicksal.

Poem S1920
Amsterdam, 2023-09-14
The GP and the light girl (Simon Vestdijk) - 1952
Novel "De dokter en het lichte meisje", chapter "I defend the middle and my honour"
Collection: Inmost
Tribute to: Vestdijk, Simon 
 

Apartheid means that

you do not see the others --


you're looking through them.


Apartheid is datApartheid, das heißt,
je de anderen niet ziet --man sieht die anderen nicht --
maar door hen heen kijkt.sieht durch sie hindurch.

Poem S1912
Amsterdam, 2023-09-11
A Change of tongue (Antjie Krog) - 2003
Tale, part 4
Collection: Actively Passive
Tribute to: Krog, Antjie 
 

A lot of people

think they deserve a heaven --


They are know-it-all's.


Veel mensen denkenViele denken, sie
een hemel te verdienen --haben den Himmel verdient --
Ze zijn betweters.Die Besserwisser.

Poem S1884
Amsterdam, 2023-08-25
Collection: A Home
 

I trust in God's will,

so my rashness surely is --


and must be His work!


Ik vertrouw Gods wil,Ich vertraue Gott,
dus mijn onbezonnenheid --meine Unbesonnenheit --
is zeker Zijn werk!muss Sein Wille sein.

Poem S1842
Amsterdam, 2023-08-01
The Queen of the Tambourine (Jane Gardam) - 1991
Novel, § April 1st (1989)
Collection: Actively Passive
Tribute to: Gardam, Jane 
 

Oh, those latecomers!

They enter and intervene --


Don't do it that way!


O, die laatkomers!Diese Nachzügler!
Meteen grijpen ze in, want --Sie greifen sofort ein, denn --
het moet echt anders!so macht man das nicht!

Poem S1766
Amsterdam, 2023-05-19
A lightly inhabited island - Faxing to Ger #5 (Nicolien Mizee) - 2022
Diary novel "Een licht bewoond eiland - Faxen aan Ger #5", May 21st, 2000
Collection: Out of place
Tribute to: Mizee, Nicolien 
 

Zywa Evil Eye

I'm not vain, I'm noble
Beyond reproach
I know the world, the people

with their little souls
their little minds
and little worries

I understand them, I see
the guilt and the shame
with which they punish themselves

for their lies
to keep the corpses
hidden in their wardrobe

I can guess them though
and I pass them on in a whisper
like a gear, a compelling eye

That's just how it works
Thanks to these seeds
I am exemplary

The seeds of my high-
handed, high-minded ideas
So practical, my slander

Poem 5188
Amsterdam, 2023-05-13
Evil Eye: Pride (after slandering people you consider inferior, look down on them with a compelling eye)
About slander: poem 5191. Evil Tongue

Collection: The drama
 

Unsolicited

they come to help, so modest --


is their haughtiness!


Ongevraagd komenUngefragt kommen
ze helpen, zo bescheiden --sie zu Hilfe, bescheiden --
is hun eigendunk!ihre Eitelkeit!?

Poem S1654
Amsterdam, 2023-02-04
Collection: Migration
 

The sexton enjoys

lamenting about God's love --


and the vale of tears.


De koster praat graagDer Küster spricht gern
klaaglijk over Gods liefde --kläglich von Gottes Liebe --
en het tranendal.und dem Jammertal.

Poem S1652
Amsterdam, 2023-02-03
Farewell (Jens Christian Grøndahl) - 2020
Story "Farväl" (collection "Dage som græs"), § 3
Collection: Whirligig Scribbler
Tribute to: Grøndahl, Jens Christian 
 

The tall man is dressed

in nothing, nothing but ties --


so superior!


De man is gekleedDer baumlange Mann
in niets, niets dan stropdassen --trägt nichts, nichts als Krawatten --
zo superieur!so überlegen!

Poem S1601
Amsterdam, 2022-12-18
Gires Kanda in Kinshasa (Kris Pannecoucke) - 2022
Gires Kanda in a suit of ties, Kinshasa 2022 (photo Kris Pannecoucke)
Collection: The climbing house
Tribute to: Pannecoucke, Kris; Kanda, Gires 
 

They are racing past

and they take it for granted --


that they're still alive.


Ze racen voorbij,Sie rasen vorbei,
vinden het vanzelfsprekend --halten es für normal, noch --
dat ze nog leven.am Leben zu sein.

Poem S1581
Amsterdam, 2022-11-29
The Office - Plankton (Han Voskuil) - 1997
Novel "Het Bureau - Plankton"
Page 132, Maarten Koning and Bart Asjes (1973)

Collection: Dirty hands
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han 
 

Zywa Good boy Abel

Good boy Abel
didn't sleep at home
considering himself better

He preferred to stay alone
with the animals in the field
and the dogs as guards

because everything had to be like then
in Paradise, that region
of the stories

he always asked for again

He wanted to know everything about our lives
the wandering about, the berries
nuts, goats and cows

And he had a trick
to make white smoke
With that he mocked his brother

He blamed also Adam and me
for Cain's need for comfort
He taunted him, provoked him

Poem 4529
Amsterdam, 2022-06-13
Collection: A Home
 

They like to believe

in a forged past history --


and make it legal.


Ze geloven graagSie glauben gerne
in een vervalst verleden --an gefälschten Geschichten --
en wettigen dat.machen sie legal.

Poem S1393
Amsterdam, 2022-04-10
For example Israel, Russia, China
Collection: PumicePieces
 

Close in on their grave,

let them die, they're unworthy --


of bearing a name.


Omsingel hun graf,Umzingle ihr Grab,
laat hen sterven, onwaardig --lass sie sterben, unwürdig --
een naam te dragen.Namen zu tragen.

Poem S1394
Amsterdam, 2022-04-10
Superiority idea - For example * Israel - Palestines, * European settlers in North America – Indians (19th century), * Russia - Ukrainians, * China - Uyghurs
Collection: PumicePieces
 

He mocks her, does not

mean it, not in a mean way --


not mean every time.


Hij spot met haar, maarEr verspottet sie;
dat meent hij niet, niet gemeen --das meint er nicht, nicht gemein --
niet altijd gemeen.nicht immer gemein.

Poem S1353
Amsterdam, 2022-03-08
All the blue (Peter Terrin) - 2021
Novel "Al het blauw"
Collection: May the Might
Tribute to: Terrin, Peter 
 

A deliberate

error at the end, humble --


pinnacle of pride.


Op het eind expresEin absichtlicher
een fout maken, deemoedig --Fehler, der demütige --
toppunt van hoogmoed.Gipfel des Hochmuts.

Poem S1191
Amsterdam, 2021-06-17
All-crushing - Faxing to Ger #3 (Nicolien Mizee) - 2019
Diary-novel "Allesverpletterende - Faxen aan Ger"
Collection: Out of place
Tribute to: Mizee, Nicolien 
 

The black man reaches

the snow-white village and knocks --


seated on his horse.


De zwarte ruiterDer schwarze Reiter
bereikt het sneeuwwitte dorp --erreicht das schneeweiße Dorf --
en klopt zittend aan.Sitzend klopft er an.

Poem H2388
Amsterdam, 2019-02-08
The traveler - 1 (Antonio Machado) - 1912
Poem "El viajero" (collection "Campos de Castilla")
Collection: Actively Passive
Tribute to: Machado, Antonio 
 

Zywa Flag of stories

The zealots fight harder and harder
for their own state, own country
against the loss of their stories

Their frustration memory
the doom image of anonymously
and dispersed over the earth

having a good life
but not being chosen
and still not free

of strangers, their incomprehension
and selective envy and
above all the past

that obliges them under penalty
of loss of flag, loss of identity and of
everything that should cover the cargo

The cruelty from heaven
The far-flung death
The finally acquired land

and the permanent salvation
from the itinerant existence
of Nahor, Terah, Abram

and the daughters of the daughters
of the daughters of the daughters
of his daughters

Poem 1764
Amsterdam, 2018-05-25
Jerusalem now
Collection: PumicePieces
 

Zywa I know

I know the books of wisdom
and the rules how to live
without idols, yet modest

I know: a king does matter
he makes proud and servile
he sits on a throne of violence

I know: failure divides
nationalists in zealots
and dreamers, licking

their bitterness behind walls
of obdurate hope, dissatisfied
with a good life, yes I know

For 1000 years they've been fighting
in the name of the Force
of their desire

to enjoy princely
ignoring that peace is not free
and that there are no inhuman people

only people who pay the price
who know the words
and believe

in action

Poem 1762
Amsterdam, 2018-05-24
Jerusalem from AD 30 until now (from Saul to current anti-Palestinian nationalism)
Collection: PumicePieces
 

Zywa Fact snips

I only would cry
if I did watch and listen
on terraces, the ferry, the news
the places where it doesn't make sense
to disagree with people

The world divided into opinions
Truths aren't searched for
you have yours or you can do without
without seeing the facts
Immaculate, ingenuous, innocent

And if you think you know better
you toughly shout how mighty they are:
your great man and the heroes
of your nation, your nation
inside the fences

of no-man's-land

Poem 877
Amsterdam, 2016-12-08
Collection: Mosaic virus
 

We may not be big,

but if we want, we will win --


one more Treasure fleet!


Al zijn we niet groot,Wir sind klein, pass auf,
als we willen winnen we --sonst gewinnen wir wieder --
weer een Zilvervloot!die Silberflotte!

Poem H1056
Amsterdam, 2014-11-20
Treasure fleet (Jan Pieter Heije) - 1847
Song "Zilvervloot" (music Jan Viotta)
Collection: May the Might
Tribute to: Heije, Jan Pieter 
 

Zywa
Keyword
Pride
GermanDutch5-7-5
PencilPumiceRainLoves
CompressedBirdsIflessPhoto
TributesDedicationsComposersHome
Attention is like sunshineMention © Zywa when using texts,
drawings, designs, paintings and photos
Search word:  CTRL-F