God's terrifying

fiery demons: depicted --


as helpful angels.


Gods vreselijkeGottes schreckliche
demonen: afgebeeld als --Dämonen: dargestellt als --

goede engelen.hilfreiche Engel.

Poem H6098
Amsterdam, 2026-02-14
Yahweh is a cruel God, whether or not assisted by punishing 'angels'
Collection: Secrets & Believers
 

Zywa On the Ame

The soil preserved signs
of thousands of years
of life at this site -

later, in the year 1000, a marshy
area with a terp on the Ame
Stream, the Aemestelle

as elsewhere in Europe
raised from an abbey
to reclaim the land

Houses were built
on huijes, a forest
of thin piles

as anchors in the peat, and
as an anchor of hope
and authority of the church:

the legend of the cog ship
carrying the bishop, his rescuer
and his dog

Poem 5838
Amsterdam, 2026-01-23
Ame = water, Stelle = raised area (terp/village)
Amestelle >> Amstel(land)
Dam in the Amstel River >> Amsteldam >> Amsterdam
Abbey: of Werden, in present-day Essen near the Ruhr River
The former Seal of Amsterdam is based on the legend of an episcopal blessing of the area

Collection: Greeting from before
 

A heaven on earth:

the great golden dome shelters --


the pious people.


Hemel op aarde:Himmel auf Erde:
de gouden koepel beschut --die goldene Kuppel schützt --

de vrome mensen.die frommen Leute.

Poem H5649
Amsterdam, 2025-06-29
With a photo of the dome of St. Peter's (September 12th, 1985, Rome)

St. Peter's

Collection: The Praised One
Dedicated to: Lotte W 
 

Joyous joyfulness,

the Supreme Supreme Being --


holds me night and day.


Jubel jubelee,Jubel Jubelee,
het Allerhoogste Hoogste --der Allerhöchste Höchste --

draagt mij dag en nacht.trägt mich Tag und Nacht.

Poem H5201
Amsterdam, 2025-01-25
TGTT (Duke Ellington) - 1968
"TGTT" ("Too Good to Title", album "Second Sacred Concert"), performed by Steven Kamperman (clarinet), Berry van Berkum (organ), Dion Nijland (double bass), Joost Buis (trombone) and Ruben Drent (trumpet) on May 14th, 2022 in the Organpark, and on January 25th, 2025 performed in the Organpark, by Theo Loevendie (piano), Oene van Geel (viola), Yoran Vroom (drums), Jeroen Vierdag (bass) and Claron MacFadden (soprano)
Collection: org anp ARK 
Composer: Ellington, Duke 
 

If you do belief

in God, you also believe --


in humanity.


Als je echt gelooftWenn du wirklich glaubst
in God, ja, dan geloof je --an Gott, dann ja, dann glaubst du --

ook in de mensheid.auch an die Menschheit.

Poem H4762
Amsterdam, 2024-07-12
Shame (Salman Rushdie) - 1983
Novel / Exposition with stories, part 4, chapter 10 The Woman in the Veil (burqa)
Collection: Shadows
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

It's all made of gold:

temples, sacrifices, priests --


for a golden god.


Alles is van goud:Alles ist aus Gold:
tempels, offers en priesters --Tempel, Opfer und Priester --

voor een gouden god.denn Gott ist aus Gold.

Poem S2244
Amsterdam, 2024-06-30
The Enchantress of Florence (Salman Rushdie) - 2008
Novel, part 3, chapter 19
Collection: Wind
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

Over there they worship

strange gods, but their death will be --


just the same as ours.


Daar aanbidden zeSie beten fremde
vreemde goden, maar sterven --Götter an, aber sterben --

doen ze net als wij.genauso wie wir.

Poem S2236
Amsterdam, 2024-06-24
The Enchantress of Florence (Salman Rushdie) - 2008
Novel, part 2, chapter 10
Collection: Wind
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

Would religion be

a mistake that people pass --


on to their children?


Is godsdienst een foutIst Religion ein
die de mensen doorgeven --Fehler, den man weitergibt --

aan hun kinderen?an seine Kinder?

Poem S2234
Amsterdam, 2024-06-23
The Enchantress of Florence (Salman Rushdie) - 2008
Novel, part 1, chapter 6
Collection: Wind
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

Providing a hold

by staying the same, that's good --


about religion.


Houvast bieden, steedsHalt bieten, immer
hetzelfde blijven is het --gleich bleiben, ist das Gute --

goede aan godsdienst.an der Religion.

Poem S2202
Amsterdam, 2024-05-23
Quichotte (Salman Rushdie) - 2019
Novel, part 2, chapter 9
Collection: Wind
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

Zywa Paradox [2]

On the eve of the battle
people sing on the hills
outside the city wall
because victory is at hand

We must follow the promise
we must free ourselves
we must and therefore may
shed blood


Two generations later
it is only a vague story
The pockets of resistance have been
destroyed, the mass graves overgrown

Only the losers don't forget
One party looks back with a grudge
and puts a curse on the other
which sublimates the defeat

into a paradox
because those who have God
on their side can only win -
in His sublime reality

Poem 5501
Amsterdam, 2024-04-16
Sunday evening, April 2nd, 30 CE in Bethany, just outside Jerusalem: celebration of the coronation of the Liberator ('Jesus'), as the Anointed king ('Christ')
At hand: Mark 1:15, 14:41-42 "The hour is come; the delivery of the city is at hand!"
Pockets of resistance and mass graves: the Roman Shoah (total destruction) of 2000 years ago against the rebellious Jews
There were two parties of losers: the Jews who concluded from the failure of the rebellion that the Liberator ('Jesus') was apparently not the Messiah (Anointed/Christ), and the Jews who insisted that he was, but that the liberation was spiritual, not worldly
In the fifth century CE, the first group added a curse against the 'Christian' Jews as the 19th prayer to the Amidah (the Shemoneh Esrah, Eighteen Prayer), number 12, named Birkat haMinim (On the heretics)
Philological studies "Paulus - Kijken in Uw lezend gezicht" ("Paul - Looking into Your Reading Face", 2012), "Geschreven en toegeschreven" ("Scribed and Ascribed", 2013) and "Wie was Paulus wel?!" ("Who was Paul?!", 2016) by Charles Vergeer

Collection: The King
Tribute to: Vergeer, Charles 
 

The high priest himself

is a born fighter, he must --


risk his life for God.


De hogepriesterDer Hohepriester
is een vechtersbaas, hij waagt --ist ein Kämpfer, er riskiert --

zijn leven voor God.sein Leben für Gott.

Poem S2176
Amsterdam, 2024-04-14
Simeon, the 'Kephas' ('Rock'/'Peter', the high priest) of the rebellious Orthodox Jews, takes part in the attack on the house of the Roman-appointed high priest Joseph Caiaphas, where the Liberator ('Jesus') is being held captive; so he ventures into the lion's den
The word 'alektor' should not be understood as 'the cock', but as 'eklektos': 'the chosen one' (the high priest)
Philological studies "A nameless one - Jesus the Nazarene" (1997) and "The panther cub: life and suffering of Jesus the Nazarene" (2000) by Charles Vergeer

Collection: The King
Tribute to: Vergeer, Charles 
 

We were citizens,

and suddenly our faith has --


become suspicious.


We waren burgers,Wir waren Bürger,
en ineens is ons geloof --und jäh ist unser Glaube --

verdacht geworden.fraglich geworden.

Poem S2170
Amsterdam, 2024-04-02
The Moor's Last Sigh (Salman Rushdie) - 1995
Novel, chapters "Spices from Malabar", (2-) 13 and "Bombay Central", (3-) 18
State of Emergency in India 1975-1977, declared under Indira Gandhi; oppression of political opponents and non-Hindus

Collection: Sludge
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

Cities put their faith

in citizens, villages --


put their faith in god.


Steden vertrouwenStädte vertrauen
op hun burgers, de dorpen --auf die Bürger, die Dörfer --

vertrouwen op god.vertrauen auf Gott.

Poem S2163
Amsterdam, 2024-03-31
The Moor's Last Sigh (Salman Rushdie) - 1995
Novel, chapter "A house divided", (1-) 4
Collection: Sludge
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

Zywa Idée crucifixe

A fan of songs halts
at spectators and life's emotions
purple and gold, betrayal
failure and consolation

A large beacon of light, a cross
carried very slowly
through the streets, so different
from 2000 years ago

In the beginning was the wood
and the wood became the light
of men, the sign
of eternal life

for those who want to see it
a happy ending
of peace and charity
more beautiful than in a dream

Poem 5473
Amsterdam, 2024-03-29
Cruci-fix = fixed to a cross
Idée fixe = unalterable view, a preoccupation of mind
Since 2011, the music show "The Passion" of Jesus Christ has been shown on Dutch television on Maundy Thursday
John 1:1,4 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God", "In him was life, and the life was the light of men"

Collection: The Praised One
 

What truth is expressed

by our myths, who, nowadays --


are our goddesses?


Wat is de waarheidWas ist die Wahrheit
van onze mythen, wie zijn --unserer Mythen, wer sind --

onze godinnen?jetzt die Göttinnen?

Poem H4406
Amsterdam, 2023-12-28
Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie) - 1981
Novel, chapter 3-5 "A wedding"
Collection: Shadows
Tribute to: Rushdie, Salman 
 

People sing to be

strong, an antiphony with --


death cries in the night.


Mensen zingen zichDie Leute singen:
moed in, een beurtzang met doods-Wechselgesang mit Todes-

kreten in de nacht.schreien in der Nacht.

Poem S1651
Amsterdam, 2023-01-31
1. Religion, 2. North Sea Flood of 1953, in Zeeland, the Netherlands, January 31st - February 1st
Collection: The Praised One
 

Zywa Saints in their stables

An afternoon with father
he directs a play
in the patron's building and
meanwhile, I wander around
the attic, room after room
musty stuff from the past

saints that I don't know
of wood that I don't know
smoothly and shiny waxed
but fallen out of favour
only sometimes as an advocate
carried on a throne in a procession

here they are real
here I can smell them
and touch them, see
their look close up and feel it
upon me from heaven
questioningly I look at them

Poem 2738
Amsterdam, 2020-03-02
Collection: Greeting from before
Dedicated to: Dory dK 
 

Zywa The envoys of Athens

The envoys of Athens
in their comfortable carriages
democratically stripped of finery

are dignified by the inability
to make a decision, divided
by all the nuances of reason

They'll have to wait
because we don't have any news
from our informants yet

We sprinkle the goat
with lukewarm water, it does not shiver
so the god will not speak

until the stars are right again
and we are informed
about the politics of the monarchs

We save expenses nor pains
We are the dedicated priests
of a notable consulting business

Poem 2376
Amsterdam, 2019-07-28
The impotence of democracy
The priests of the Oracle of Delphi

Collection: Secrets & Believers
 

Zywa Seen in the night

Some children are serious
They don't cling to
a golden hand or an angel
with large swan wings

They walk in circles around the void
in which the possibilities lie
They don't want to know anything
about the statues from the past

in which people think their lives
are recorded
Some children
prefer to go their own way

They like to be alone and in their hearts
they hold the reins
of the future, seen
in the night of the star

and my husband is such a child

Poem 2152
Amsterdam, 2019-03-13
Islamic tradition: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid - 615
Collection: The Praised One
 

Zywa According to the priests in Sanctuaries

Cooing pigeons in the trees
of Mother Earth and Heaven
the home of the Spirit

whose breath quietly rustles
in the leaves, tapping the bronze
like charivari music mocking us

The oracle priests listen
and make sanctimonious faces
Whispering they deliberate

to pronounce riddles
with sense and authority
about matters of the soul and politics

here in the woods on the mountains
between the eternal snow
and the shores of the sea

Poem 2096
Amsterdam, 2019-02-16
Dodóni (Epirus, Greece, near Albania)
Collection: Secrets & Believers
 

Zywa Heaven's Gate
Earth's Gate

Of course there are stories
beautiful stories that everyone knows
but tangible is only the stone

from prehistoric eternity
I look high between the stars
where it came from, so

there is Heaven's Gate
here Earth's Gate
and God's breath in between

This is not a temple
We are not unbelievers
who want to see God's nearness

smell his incense, hear
his voice in the silence
of their neediness

We gather at the gate
with the stone we broke
the cornerstone of the world

outside of paradise

Poem 1848
Amsterdam, 2018-09-27
Kaaba
Collection: The Praised One
 

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