Stand up: no rubbish

By Arno Bohlmeijer

All the rage on the lake: supping.

But it’s not my cup of tea, really.

It sounds too much like sobbing –

in whose ears? – and reminds me

of the supconscious, pandora box,

a can of worms and such, no thanks.

Give’s a break to stay on safe land,

bare feet on the soft grass ground

in a sweet and lush lee. No secret?

My soul needs to grow a shield,

called “callus” in Dutch, because

the thought of a supmarine comes up,

not putting the mind at ease:

a confined space deep in dark seas.

The supping man by the sharp reeds

tries hard to stay up, killing his arms,

knees and back, heart, and my eyes –

in my seat on the bright green shore,

where this quiet and fine morning says,

“What’s to mind?

We’re born to be light and kind.”

______________________

A naked field resembling life:

six optional and natural poems

by queer and modest Arno Bohlmeijer,

the winner of a PEN America Grant 2021,

poet and novelist, writing in English and Dutch,

published in six countries – US: Houghton Mifflin,

and in Universal Oneness:

Anthology of Magnum Opus Poems from around the World.

His novel Narrowly appears in October 2025, about rare solidarity.

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