The hum of engines, whoosh of escalators,
beeps of card readers, footsteps,
words (“Ik was een
motiveringsbrief aan het schrijven”),
and the wheels of the cart
of the man who’s going to clean
Tag Archives: poetry
In January
The sun lies
sluggishly in doubt
Flock after flock
The clouds go one way, the birds another
I watched the sun come up today
I thought, I don’t have to do anything. I don’t have to write. I don’t have to read. I don’t have to feel guilty if I’m not being productive.
So I sat in the corner of the couch and looked out the plate-glass window. The trees were black. The sky was gray, the clouds a slightly darker gray. Birds flew in and out of the trees. Steam rose from the neighbors’ pipe. After a while, the clouds turned white and the sky turned blue. It got brighter. I kept waiting for the sun to appear above the rooftops. I was done sitting. I was done waiting. I was ready to move. Stopping would be copping out. But staying to “finish the job” would be no better. Up on the third floor, I thought, I could definitely see the sun. But was that the idea?
There is no canned wisdom.
How to establish a beachhead
Love your enemy
Don’t lose heart
Humble crystals fell singing,
bringing
the city to a halt
Words from and for Janke
Dreams getting in-
To trains and
getting out
of trains,
hasty nods
of recognition – Oh,
so much left to do!
Sorting it out
They said the event had twenty-eight causes and that you could follow a thread back to each one. Each had its own color and they got all tangled up, because causes move. They get agitated. They don’t like taking the blame. They have their own causes to blame.
Could you now
Do the best thing you’ve ever done?
Morning bus ride
I’ve noticed that if you
look for the beauty
love trickles in
to fill the space –
and happily no one drowns!
Utrecht Journal 