The Invisible Man

I try to hold the space

In which you were

Just yesterday

Your fingers on my lips

Have left me

Gasping for air even now

You’re gone

And all the world

Can see right through me:

Without you 

There’s a hole

Where I used to be.

Joshua

With the glow of the sunset 

in his eyes

he resembles most a dark lion

placed across oceans and time

onto this rugged coast.

His manes shaking in wild cartwheels

his roar of silk

his ears of gentle understanding.

Here is Joshua:

striding, playing, running

on an Asian Beach.

His smile is broad and white.

Mexicaanse Hond

De mezcal in mijn fles

veranderde langzaam van kleur

met het naderen van de avond.

Nu, in het kwijnende licht van de zon,

lijkt mijn worm

in een bodempje bloed te drijven.

In een stad ver van hier

heft Chihuahua

zijn bek naar de rijzende maan,

ik huiver,

want zijn etherisch gehuil

klinkt als muziek uit mijn radio.

Deuce

Two mountains and two poplars

The morning and the night

A tree of gold

A tree of blood

A field of waving cobwebs

A yellow ball

A scarlet ball

Caught for just a moment

Two mountains and two poplars

The sun laughs at their game

Gerard Hates Jazz

Tear this cruel gypsy heart
out of my rib cage.
Rip that poisonous sax-serpent
from my trembling hands.

Let me sit here
next to this tiny bed
with a bloody hole in my chest
with rotting fingers.

Let me sit here

staring at the light
that shines through
the ear of my son.

Jazz Club ‘The Poppy’ Approaches a Black Hole

Daffy, the leader 

of the yellow brass section,

swings his stamen

to the rhythm of the wind.

Bees in pinstripes 

get a buzz out of

booze flowing from flowers

on the borders of the known universe.

The lark goes down in style

and sings the blues

while falling from the sky

into the throat of the black hole.

Ray

Cosmic sting straight to the heart

Struck!

X-Ray-X

If it would help

I’d pray Ray

I’d pray for the explosive nature

Of your nuclear kisses Ray

Wow, the magic mushrooms

Of your bright eruptions

Ripping up horizons

Shredding clouds

Evaporating rain

Rain-Ray-Rain

I bow for you Ray

For your beauty Ray

Bow-Ray-Bow

Rainbow Ray, golden Ray,

Your colours 

Shine right through me Ray.

You hit me.

You struck me

With your cosmic sting Ray.

Dazzling!

You’re beautiful

Happiness springs from the

Jet black wells of your eyes

While sun rays dance

In joyous twirls around

The swirling darkness of your hair

You’re beautiful

Your gracious hands

Propel the words that

Jump and hop full of excitement

From your deep red lips

You’re beautiful

You juggle with the stars

You skip across oceans

You kiss the clouds

You tiptoe over moon and rainbow

And oh,

You hold my ruby heart

Firmly in your hands

You’re beautiful

Spring Horn

I open the balcony doors;

The April wind gallops in and

Prances in my living room.

Larger than light!

Pink nostrils opened wide,

Shivering, sweaty and wild.

It tramples my sofa,

My chairs, my TV and even

Glares at my saxophone!

I grab my brass friend and

Run down the stairs

Chased by the noble steed.

Outside! Outside!

Blow your horn Cornielje:

Spring is here!

December in Tangiers

Warm cold light dark

the flickering winter sun

plays hide-and-seek

with the skies of Tangiers:

along the beach strolls the boulevard 

in an ever changing shadow dress.

Over the bay hang

some heavy clouds:

camels drink upside down

from the rainbow and 

spit on innocent passersby.

A man in a red kaftan 

magically pops up a yellow umbrella

adding even more colour to this day.

A Poem for Hisashi

Hisashi is short

but in no way is he small

his smile beams

like a laser

across the floor

his sax resembles

a silver dragon

flying from his mouth:

roaring and whispering

smoking and burning.

Hisashi is big

and always beautiful.

Cool

A blue train thunders

at breakneck speed right through

the wall of the jazzclub.

Mirrors splinter,

Jackson Pollock replicas

fly around in shreds.

The drunk at the bar

pisses his pants

and farts a wet fart.

Hookers scream, corks pop,

a pimp pukes for fear

and cuts some cocaïne.

What the fuck is going on?

The pianist falls of his stool

and wanks all over Anita’s butt.

Sodom and Gomorrah!

The end is near!

Just the sax man plays on....cool.

All I want is You

I will put on my black T-Shirt

I will roll up my sleeves

Wear my snake leather bracelets 

Flex my tattoos

I will take my saxophone

Out of its worn-out case

I will put it to my lips

And rip the air into shreds

Desperation may drip from my eyes

Screams may drip from my mouth

Tears may drip from my face

But I will smile my rotten smile

When all I want is you

When all I want is you

And all I want is you

My sons

Farewell

Maybe we just talked too much

All those years

Of love of loss of pain of tears

Maybe we should have

Maybe we should have 

Gone for silent walks along the lagoon

Maybe we could have

Maybe we could have

Sat and stared at the sunset together

But then again my love

But then again my love

I always loved the sound of your voice

I always loved to

I always loved to

Listen to your wild dreams and rage

Maybe there is nothing 

Maybe there is nothing
We could have done after all. 

Zürich Blues

Captured by the claws of the horizon

Ripped from the arms of children,

The screams of a wounded woman

Deafen the soul.

Bangkok, London, Barcelona

Los Angeles and Istanbul.

Colourful carpets, spices, sunlight,

Snow and everywhere is loss.

(How can I avoid the looks

in my head?

When I close my eyes

I see more!)

Airport, airplane, passport, stamps

Hotel rooms, jazz bars,

Singing, playing, whiskey, wine,

My saxophone tears up the night.

(The photographs in my pocket

Are fading and sometimes

When I sing the blues

My tears are real!)

Cornielje plays in Zürich tonight

All tables are reserved

But in England his sons are playing
With granddad on a chilly beach.

Cape

My heart is an ancient humpback

wounded, scratched and pierced.

A thousand times I crossed these seas

and swam around the world

with on my tail the whale boats of my guilt.

Just once again I’d like to see

the lighthouse of Cape Byron

before I take my final course

towards the southern shores.