Poems, People, Places, Passion

Amsterdam station at Christmas

Belladonnatella — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:26:58 +0000

Train’s coming and I feel good, snow’s melting, putting me in the mood. I’m feeling as festive as I can be. Dream a little Christmas dream…

Auntie Mary

Belladonnatella — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:00:31 +0000

This is a true story about a person I know, I thought I knew, I think I dreamt about, I almost forgot, who almost forgot me, who I now remember. My aunt won’t go to paradise She refuses bribes and sneaky chides Her steely glasses flash a sign of a deeply stubborn state of mind [...]

Dirty Cold Man

Belladonnatella — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:34:30 +0000

Now that the scent of spring is in the air and I have the familiar itch if hayfever in my nostrils, it seems silly to be still writing about wintry subjects. But this is a good one. I loved the pun and thought that it could not go unpublished. This one is dedicated to the stranger on the lawn who inspired me and sadly, is no more.

Seven Deadly Sins – Envy

Belladonnatella — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:36:09 +0000

This is the first poems of the series I wrote on the Seven Deadly Sins. It’s short and like all strong emotions, pretty much speaks for itself. Envy Like treacle jelly, sticky, messy, beyond all grasp clogging noses, pores and veins, staining pure minds and ways, feigning amity and aiming to corrupt through haze.

Hold The Thought

Belladonnatella — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:53:41 +0000

Have you ever lain on the grass and looked up at the sky? Sometimes when you look hard enough, you start to see through your own eye. You can trace the veins and follow the bits floating about in the jelly-like liquid inside. But everytime you move your eye, the bits move too. Only when you relax and look beyond them are you able to make them stop. What a lovely analogy for life itself.

Box of Secrets

Belladonnatella — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:49:46 +0000

This one goes without many words and fits the mood of the week with all its tremors and tragedies.

To the Departed

Belladonnatella — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:28:23 +0000

All thoughts are futile and inadequate to understand what those hit by the terrible earthquake in Haiti this week must be going through right now. But still, my thoughts go out to the survivors, the helpers, the families and friends in the diaspora, but most of all to those who were taken away too quickly, too soon.

The Commute & Waiting for a Train

Belladonnatella — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:45:15 +0000

I was going to conduct a lengthy exegesis on T.S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi", but... Twelfth Night is long gone, all the remnants of Christmas have been cleared away and the working week is back in full swing. Hooray, I want to say, but the words get all tangled up. This is what comes out instead; two for the price of one.

Winter Earth

Belladonnatella — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:12:50 +0000

This must be one of the coldest winters I have experienced in 20 years of living in Germany. We had the most amazing snow fall over the weekend and due to sub-zero temperatures, the whole town is still covered in snow. I can see the white-covered rooftops from my office window right now. And last night, we had very impressive sunset - like a mean, red gash in the horizon. This is what inspired me to these words....

Blue Moon New Year

Belladonnatella — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:30:26 +0000

Despite a serious bout of food poisoning, which forced us to adopt plan B for our New Year's Eve celebrations, heralding in 2010 still turned out to be a wonderful moment. We went down to the banks of the Rhine a few minutes before midnight, armed only with a camera and some serious sartorial layering. We joined a strange pilgrimage of people carrying their beers, champagnes and fireworks and children. Strange because, our part of the city has never been so alive during the day, let alone at this time of the night. Once by the river, we were treated to a fantastic 360 degree display of fireworks. Out with the old; in with the new!