Poem

Tonnus Oosterhoff

Side by side

I’m not looking, but wish me

I’m not looking, but wish me
a throne for the sea

I’m not looking, but I wish me
a lass of my own who understands
I would as gladly be dead as living

we just make do
on life and death

ik zoek niet, maar wens me

ik zoek niet, maar wens me
een troon voor de zee

ik zoek niet, maar ik wens me
een eigen meisje dat begrijpt
dat ik net zo lief dood ben als leef

we doen maar wat
op leven en dood

Tonnus Oosterhoff

(The Netherlands, 1953)

The son of a rural hospital chaplain, Tonnus Oosterhoff studied at the University of Groningen. Recognized as a leading contemporary poet in the Netherlands, Oosterhoff lives in the remote northern flatlands where he writes with a view of ‘a dyke (7 cm), sky (155 cm)’.

Working from diverse sources – local anecdotes, newspaper articles, canonical poems – Oosterhoff’s innovative poetry is noted fo...

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Poems of Tonnus Oosterhoff

I’m not looking, but wish me

I’m not looking, but wish me
a throne for the sea

I’m not looking, but I wish me
a lass of my own who understands
I would as gladly be dead as living

we just make do
on life and death

I’m not looking, but wish me

I’m not looking, but wish me
a throne for the sea

I’m not looking, but I wish me
a lass of my own who understands
I would as gladly be dead as living

we just make do
on life and death