Poetry
I wander
lost and contained
I search for myself in the mist
Every mirror is fogged
And I’ve forgotten
who I am
I evade my thoughts
Driven by hunger
And a thirst for redemption
Everything tastes bitter and foul
I want to break
And be reborn
No one breaks me
I’m a fireless phoenix
The well is dry
I wade through residue
Of frustration and inertia
How desolate
To see the light
But not the path
How lonely
To reach
But not to touch
Just when the circle seems complete
It turns out to be a spiral
The goal of the quest
Is to get lost
I wander
Lost and contained
I search for myself in the mist
Language
Every once in a while I used to write some poetry from my adolescence till I was old enough to nestle in my eternal midlife crisis. Almost all my poetry was written in Dutch, since it felt closer, more personal and I felt safer to play with words, sounds, tone, tune and rythm. For the same reason I believe a translation of poetry can never capture the poet’s intent of the original poem. Therefore I have decided never to publish any poetry in English.
On the other hand, it felt a little silly to hide my poetry from my English speaking readers. So I tried to translate a selection of my poems and put it on this page for your enlightenment/amusement/annoyance.
Mind you, I don’t consider myself a great poet. It has always been a way to hide my thoughts and emotions into the vagueness that language can offer.
In the end, you have already used all the words a few times and there is no poetry left...
Astrayance
This unofficial bundle contains translated poem that find their Dutch counterpart in one of the bundles I selfpublished some time ago:
- De kruistocht van verdwaalde hormonen (The crusade of astrayed hormones)
- Vleesetende Vlinders (Carnivorous Butterflies)
- Handboek voor verdwaling in donkere dagen (Manual for astrayance in dark days)
- Murw (Dreary)
Astrayance is about feeling lost while you’re swaying from sadness to joy, from amorousness to solitude. It’s about finding solace in frailty, and strength in silence. It paints smiles on to raindrops. It hides the monsters under your bed. It makes you aware of the thorns in your skin. I soothes your soul as the moon shines on your desires.