illwriteuapoem

St Valentine had nothing to do with it
He simply sat and observed
Appointed to share a little more love
Also in lives of the lost and deterred

The plane went up again
After the third stop she lost her hair
Endless was this journey
Of being lost and flown to somewhere
Feeling bold, but going nowhere

St Valentine sighed a little deeper
He couldn’t see and ignore
Did they know what life had in store
What if they fought their inner wars?

Telling her tale to a total stranger
Sharing a similar and different boat
One’s dream, was another’s nightmare
Chasing the past like a winding road
Showing choices, without fruits to bare

St Valentine’s breath flew along the plane
He cared and offered his ear
Understood the precipice perceived
Wishing to coax away the fear

On the next landing
She would be with her family envisioned
Cared for and loved
Surrounded by her most precious’ decisions
Opening the road, to be fearless once again

Over and over again,
and again,
and again,
and again.

++++++++++++++

Person of inspiration: Over a lifetime we make 100s maybe even 1000s of important decisions. Each in one way or another affecting our lives, sometimes for the good, sometimes for worse. Making sense of this path sometimes leads us to doubt and feel stuck, but the only thing we can do in my experience is look at what we have now and accept and appreciate what is there. And I hope that this poem maybe gives a Swedish – Canadian development worker a little nudge in that direction again.

Place of inspiration: a flight from Abuja to Lome, with a stop over in Cotenou on Valentine’s day

This was not possible
I followed his gaze
Not so long ago
Leaning into his shoulder
Us, here, together
Touching the crease of his neck
Discussing, caressing, kissing
My hands
Even to be here
Playing with his fingers
It would not have been possible
Giving a small nudge with my nose
People would have betrayed us
Putting my head on his chest
Loathed us
Listen to its beating
Beat us
Connecting my own breath to his
Even charge us with a crime neither of us committed
Feeling even closer into him

I looked at the wall
Saw his picture with Madiba
Both smiling

Silence was a rule
Soft steps
Hallways without movement
Only shadows swiftly moving
from one shelf to another
Picking, choosing
Considering
The elements of paper
Dust lining the archives
of knowledge and curiosity
A brief blow on a cover
Folding open, slipping through
The scent of black ink
and letters waiting
Unlocking words
The perfect formulation
of a sentence

Quickly, a whisper
on the other side of the shelf
A mother, a child
teaching ways
to stop jumping
from excitement for all which is on offer

Another cover tickles imagination
Reaching out again
The fragrance of promise and anticipation
A choice is made
Eyes light up
Movement to the right
A drop
A thump
Pages spread
Dust sparkles on top of desecration
a pile can never be too high
a sigh, kneeling
Bending over, lending a hand
Eyes meet
Locking into
the perfect space
Sharing of mystery

++++++++++

persons of inspiration: people sitting to my left and right conversing softly in a place where silence used to be a rule, but now can be filled with interaction. There will probably be a second poem soon of the modern library.
place of inspiration: OBA, Amsterdam, it has to be my favourite

Choose wisely, he said
not to whither your time away
each millisecond becomes a second
a second, a minute
a minute, an hour
an hour, a day
what information will be your choice
today?

She looked at her self-serving overload
With the touch of her fingers
She clicked between information
to go, or to stay

Each tab a window of opportunity
To find the perfect shoe
always a first thing to do
To read about the weather
why go outside today?
To catch up with the stock exchange
if only the economy would do better
To see the funniest joke
Youtube’s use was endless
To read about science and technology
well, only to get the latest gadget
To travel without leaving
someday she would go herself
To learn the ten tips for ultimate happiness
if only she had time to apply them
To save her favourite recipe
maybe she would cook it tomorrow
To look for love at a dating site
how else would she meet new people?
To watch the ‘latest’ pornography
some would call it a night cap for the lonely

And her favourite
Her absolute favourite
was to indulge in the lives of others
on her well-kept social media page

Each time a new opportunity
To post a picture of her new shoes
if only she would get 10 likes
To rave about the beautiful weather
but no time to go outside
To catch up in four chat conversations at the same time
let’s meet soon, but not this week
To see the funniest baby video
actually why doesn’t she have a baby?
To learn about who has done what
another acquaintance at the other end of the world
To re-post words of inspiration
quotes of everybody-knows-Rumi about love and consolation
To see the fantastic food of her best friend
she should ask for the recipe
To get shocked by the latest viral video
a good thing Facebook sensors explicit nudity

Choose wisely, he said
Don’t lose touch with those who need to stay
An acquaintance becomes a friend
A friend, a cousin
A cousin, a sister
A sister, a mother
What kind of connection will be your choice
today?

She sighed
Left her computer & ipad
off for the day
read her favourite author for awhile
then called a friend
To whither
together
in real time
away

+++++++
person of inspiration: we all look many a times at a screen without looking, especially on a morning train, checking other people’s lives on social media pages on his Ipad, he looked a bit homesick, but maybe he was just like me, browsing and filling some time until the train would stop again.

place of inspiration: train Amsterdam – The Hague HS

Ik help je in jouw jas
Ik geef je een knuffel
Ik wil jou niet kwijt

Elke dag een nieuwe reis
Vandaag samen in de trein
Samen
Samen op weg
Op zoek naar mieren
En dwalen in het mierenbos

Ik help je in jouw jas
Ik geef je een knuffel
Ik wil jou niet kwijt

Elke dag een nieuw verhaal
Vandaag samen in een raket
Samen
Samen op weg
Ontdekken van de aliens
En verdwalen in de melkweg

Ik help je in jouw jas
Ik geef je een knuffel
Ik wil jou niet kwijt

Elke dag een nieuwe ervaring
Vandaag samen met de boot
Samen
Samen op weg
Zwaaien naar een vinvis
En verwaaien op zee

Ik help je in jouw jas
Ik geef je een knuffel
Ik wil jou niet kwijt

Elke dag een nieuw avontuur
Vandaag samen in ons huis
Samen
Samen op onze plek
Op zoek naar het begin van het leven
verklaart door God of Darwin

Ik help je in jouw jas

++++++++++++

person of inspriration: een liefdevolle vader die zijn even zo lieve en flirtende zoontje voorleest over het begin van het leven en dat ook heel mooi weet uit te leggen

place of inspiration: de trein van Amersfoort naar Amsterdam

I was rummaging through the layers of history
before the first elephant blew its trumpet
before the first wave washed ashore
before the second moon lost its way around the earth
before everything and anything had meaning

But it was you who listened to the call of the ancestors
The ones who whisper on the outerside of the looking glass
The ones reminding you of the light ahead
The ones connecting you to the path behind
The ones who made you scream out loud

Then made you laugh until you crunched over

And now make you feel at peace
Hearing the gentle rushes of the wind
Hearing the calming sound of deeply rooted steps
Hearing the quiet pace of true life unfolding
Hearing the silence of the mind at ease

Welcome to the world of old souls

++++++

person of inspiration: an ‘old’ friend that found her spiritual connection in the old sangoma tradition and keeps me on my toes for not being too ‘old’

place of inspiration: somewhere in between the memories of life in Cape Town and sitting in a cafe in Amsterdam which considers itself a ‘foolish business’

Jij was te snel weg
Een kaart met een lachende geit
Een ander met zwaaiende kinderen
aangeboden met verhalen langs de vloedlijn
Is of was het verlegen bescheidenheid?

Het had zo’n mooie ontmoeting kunnen zijn
Eén van dichterlijke vrijheid
Van eenzame gelijkheid
Spelen met woorden
Onder het genot van een fles wijn

Al zou de haiku niet mijn forté zijn
Ooit dompelde ik mij onder
in de vlietende wereld van de rijzende zon
Hiroshige, Kabuki theater, groene thee en okashi
haar bitterzoete compagnon

Het hertalen van die 7-5-7 lettergrepen
bleken een brug te ver
Ik ben terug overgestoken
naar de verfijning van het Nederlands taalgebruik
In vorm en kleur

Houd mij vast aan gericht of ongericht rijmen
Sluit mij aan bij hetgeen Cyrano de Bergerac
zo mooi verwoordde in eindeloze Alexandrijnen:
‘Mijn leven heeft geen functie
Als ook maar iets verandert aan mijn interpunctie’

++++++++

person of inspiration: onverwacht een kaart gekregen met http://www.aandevloedlijn.blogspot.com, we blijken hetzelfde te doen, schoonheid van woorden delen

place of inspiration: Vlieland, ITGWO

In het donker kan ik het
Ik schijn
Prik met mijn stralen in de duisternis
Ongebreideld draai ik door
Ben het licht zonder geluid

Licht aan, licht uit
Licht aan, licht uit

Ik voorkom bange harten
Trots bied ik hen mijn vertrouwen aan
Verloochen nooit of te nimmer
Zelfs bij nieuwe maan
Dans ik over de golven
van zonsondergang, tot zonsopgang
volg de cycli van eb en vloed
verzeker ik andermans bestaan

Overdag kan ik het
Ik sta
Ben het baken van herkenning in de zon
De torenhoge achtergrond
voor verdwalen in het vergezicht

Droom aan, droom uit
Droom aan, droom uit

Ik voorkom bange harten
Trots bied ik hen mijn vertrouwen aan
Verloochen nooit of te nimmer
Zelfs bij bewolkte lucht
Spiegel ik in de golven
van zonsopgang, tot zonsondergang
volg de cycli van eb en vloed
verzeker ik andermans open vlucht

++++++

person of inspiration: someone who enjoys a view and is willing to offer light to other people, or perhaps aspires to by trial and error?
place of inspiration: Vlieland, ITGWO

She did all the tiny and small things
The things no one cared about
or thought to be mere imagination

She painted her nails yellow, grey and red
to see the polish slowly fade away

She mastered the art of waiting
for all the flowers to bloom in the flowerbed

She recorded the laughter of piglets
to let it ring across the lake

She blew her dreams into a balloon
to let them pop into somebody else’s ear

She waved to the waves
to send them back into the sea

She let the meercat stand on its head
instead of its tail

She gave herself a tail
to chase after like a cat

And in all of it
she blinked with her eyes a thousand times
to simply see the jump of her heart

++++++

person of inspiration: not many people dare to follow their dream, but all you need to do is follow your imagination – go for it!

place of inspiration: conversations in the office

Ik hoor je niet

Wat hoor je niet

Ik hoor jou niet

Maar ik ben hier, toch?

Ik luister naar hoe jij fluistert

Het ene oor in, het andere oor uit

maar ik hoor je niet

Ik fluister niet!

Mijn lippen bewegen, mijn keel maakt geluid

En jij hoort mij niet?

Nee, jij luistert niet

Volgt alleen jouw eigen klank

Overstemt wat je vertelt

Hoezo?

Ik hoor alles wat je zegt

Ik luister altijd naar jouw gefluister

Ik hoor jou niet

Ik zeg toch, ik luister

Ik hoor jou niet

Wil je dat ik fluister?

+++++++

person of inspiration: omdat alles kunnen horen, nog niet betekent dat je alles hoort, noch alles niet kunnen horen, dat je niets hoort

place of inspiration: lunch met verse bagels en scones op tafel