a Palestinian Poetress in an Ethiopian coffee house

 You find Aksum just off the tourist path around Grand Place.

It provides the perfect illusory escape from both space and time.

And however idyllic this Saturday morning was, 

these ominous yet encouraging words came to mind.

Here is Suheir Hammad performing her entire poem 'BREAK (clustered)'

Friends in lonley places

don't let winter depression get you down.

Reach out.

Connect.

Kiss.

 

a place just isolated enough for  this to be apropriate

The King's guards were watching me suspisciously.

Exile

Hidden words in a book by a writer very much used to hiding
because of his words.

Far from Satanic, but a small verse from August Strindberg's correspondence with Nietzsche

I can certainly admit that some of Mr Rushdie's own words have entered my

uterus'

mind

between the lines

These simple lines wanted to frolic among the last autumn leaves,

just in time before winter takes over

I tucked him in safely

but with just enough chance of it falling out and landing in front of a passerby's feet

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow 

Don't walk behind me, I may not guide you

Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Kölsch Justitiae

Jerusalem has endured more than its own share of injustice, 

so it seemed only fair to put the city in good company.

Albert Camus would have been 100 years last week. 

I'm sure he would have been happy to find his own words in this beautiful biography of a city as existentialist as himself.

L'amour est injustice

mais

la justice ne suffit pas.

Self-explanatory note along the Autobahn

Risk aversion and German pretzels in Cologne

Perhaps emotional outbursts are not what comes to mind when you hear the word Germany.

This may or may not be a reflection of reality.

In either case, we'd all be better off with a little more emotional risk-taking

Maybe someone finds this and instead of ordering a plain pretzel, goes for a Weckmann...

International poetry-keeping in Vienna

The United Nations has six official languages,

and probably more acronyms than any other organization.

So, 

Sometimes its employees need a little poetic daydreaming.

In other words, some Anaïs Nin.

"Our lives are composed greatly of dreams, from the unconscious, 
and they must be brought into connection with action. 
They must be woven together."

Note to self: Invent yourself.

We remember the stories we tell abour our lives;

we invent our lives in the remembering.

Fall(-ing) coziness

My favourite season is approaching,

time to stock up on warm & cozy

I love the idea of finding a surprise 

in the pocket of that beautiful winter jacket you just have to buy

So, Andrés Neumans exquisite phrase found a new home,

in this Spanish leather jacket.

and if you don't share Neuman's certainty,

continue hoping to find it :)

Asking in Antwerp

At dawn in Antwerp, the naive questions kept pouring out

In the only open bar at 04.30, with Meatloaf in the background

I would do anything for love (but I won't do that). 

Well, can they?

"tout bon"

A few thoughts on the boundaries of the individual

une question, s'il vous plaît

 

Milan Kundera once wrote that only the most naive of questions are truly serious.

That these questions, often without answers, set the limits of human possibilities.

 

So, you see why it is important to pose them.

 

 

 Diderot knew that aswell, long before Kundera. 

 

 

I like to imagine the face of whichever university official who collects the mail today.

 

Where words seem redundant

Even among all this pressing beauty, 

at Mount Edith Cavell, Canada

 There is always some room for words

Just a few notes,

and the rest is fresh air

Time and space in the land of Fantasy

In Sleeping Beauty's castle, 

time and space feel obsolete, unnecessary

Borges folded himself up and placed himself safely in this chandelier.

Distances used to be greater,

because space shrinks over time.

fighting failure of feeling

Maybe you are thinking that consumerism does not inspire anything?

You'd be wrong.

In this lovely Christmas shop at Disneyland, Paris

I sneaked in a little note to remind someone -anyone- of the importance of emotion.

The obvious, yet beautiful words from Kay Larson are waiting in this cup of Disney-Love.

Spending words, spending money...

There are books for just about anything. 

Or what do you think about this one, explaining how rich people spend their money?

There was a distinct need for some counter weight...

Respecting the section, 

economization of words was used for optimal impact.

Locking in love in London

    In a busy pub in Camden, a little Goethe will help just about anyone.

    Hopefully, this innocent message, scribbled on a menu will be picked up by a German speaker :)