Dissent on Museumplein
door Renate Zentschnig
Mammoth Tank
The coronavirus
is a mammoth tank,
or so the Minister thinks.
It’s up to us to share the pain
and we’ve been doing that since March
in such numbers.
Compulsory registration
to get a haircut or massage
I really wonder
where all this is heading.
Cafes close at ten
masks on in the stores.
sure, we’ll wear them on our faces
But it’s not a joke at all.
Corona Times
I feel…
Actually, what is it I’m feeling?
It feels like our old lives will never come back,
as if everything has changed forever!
Everything has slowed down, but you’re back from the supermarket before you know it…
The streets are silent and dull.
Because you can step outside for a second,
but only if you don’t hang around!
Have our lives been derailed forever?
It’s hard to stop thinking about!
When the night is dark and the streets are cold;
when you feel lost
and there is no one to hold your hand.
When you get stuck in your own thoughts
and you start crying for no reason
but no one’s there to hug you and soften your pain.
When you feel like this is the end of the world,
and you have no one to keep you company.
Try to enjoy the little things despite it all,
this will all blow over in time.
Everyone will hug again,
celebrate and jump around,
and your smile will return.
And we will all have a spring in our step,
because we will be happy again.
by Donna Jansen
What’s going on behind the silent facades of the Jordaan district during lockdown? Verhalenfestival Jordaan – the Jordaan Story Festival – asked residents to submit their stories. What’s going on in their heads and in their lives?
Eight of the stories were read and recorded by local actors and used to create the audio walk Niets te zien (Nothing to See).