Remco Campert, “Poetry” and Hans Sleutelaar, “The Last Soldier”, an excerpt.
Jesse Welles
performing Remco Campert and Hans SleutelaarRemco Campert, “Poetry” and Hans Sleutelaar, “The Last Soldier”, an excerpt.
The day before yesterday,
there was war.
Yesterday was the same.
There's still war in my time.
Time that's not just mine.
Money prowls around the world
and finances itself with war.
War may not speak its name.
It's called defense.
Poetry is the brushwood in which
I'll hide when the soldiers come
with their screaming tanks.
The last soldier doesn't march.
He just stops and stands still,
realizing that peace
doesn't come with a uniform.
Doesn't come with a command,
but a choice.
A choice to lay down arms and
walk into the silence.
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Campert (1929-2022) was a Dutch poet and novelist, and Sleutelaar (1935-2020) was a Dutch poet, editor, and publisher. Both authors were deeply involved in Amsterdam’s literary scene, contributing their anti-war and humanistic sentiments to modern Dutch poetry.
“What your shit is about?
Christine, peaches and cream, Christine
Shake the dust from your feet
This whole life is a dream, Christine”
— Christine by Jeh Sea Wells
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