*** The Poetry of Jeroen Holthuijsen ***
Here are some of the poems I've written in English. They all express my ideals and ideas of the meaning of life.
A poem holds a message, given by the subconscious, God, or whatever you like to call it. There's an almost infinite number of things you can read into it. A poem can contain a thousand truths.
The only things that matters is that you find some Truth of your own in it, that you recognize a part of your existence.
To understand the poems, you'll need to know something about my views on life, the meaning of life, and how to live your life. So I've added a few comments... something to think about. Your reactions are very welcome.
I believe in one source, from which all life originates and of which everyone carries a piece inside. That source is eternal, that source is pure
and that source is good. I call it the 'Universal Love" or the "Golden Light". But you might very well call that source God.
What's really important is that the Light is not only a 'distant star'. You can find a part of that within yourself too.
One day I had to write a poem about those two Lights, which are, in essence, the same. I was told to call it "Light of Consciousness".
Light of Consciousness
Poem for Life (Let us be lights)
Heal My Wounds
NEW POEM: Embrace (for my dear friend Erin)
This next poem is an expression of a very overwhelming experience I had when I was hiking through
the hills of the German Sauerland in the summer of '96. I felt connected to
everything, a real part of nature. Never before had I seen such beauty...
I was walking there... tears in my eyes, and so much Love, so much
warmth... I can't begin to describe it. But I tried to, and this poem is the
result. Since that day I really am able to feel what John Denver is singing about
in so many of his songs. Whenever I hear him sing "to walk in the wonder", I am reminded of
this poem, which I hold very dear.
A Heartfelt Walk (NOW available)
Somewhere in the Darkness (NOW available)
You could see a description of the human soul - as I see it - in this poem. Try to read the lines in that perspective and see what you find in them...
The Crystal Dream (not available yet)
Every day we're confronted with people hurting eachother and their Mother Earth... and in doing so, in a way they're even hurting their own children, because they're the ones
who'll have to live in the world their parents have created. Whenever I see people killing eachother on the news, I... I just can't believe my eyes. I don't want to believe them. That's not the world I want to live in!
But my faith is what keeps me going. I'm absolutely convinced that everyone is - in essence - good. It's just that many people are blinded by earthly emotions and thus forget why they're here. I tried to express that in "Reflections of the Future".
It's so important that we find out who we are and why we came here in the first place. That we remember our 'Birth Vision" as it's called in James Redfields' "The Tenth Insight" (i.e. the sequel to "The Celestine Prophecies"). I really recommend reading those books.
Reflections of the Future
This poem was inspired by a very good article by John Denver. It's called "On Living Liberty".
I REALLY recommend that you read it. John writes that in order to become free, we must first find out who we are. Subsequently we'll have to find the courage to be the person we imagine.
No one would ever consciously hurt any part of themselves. So when we realize that we're all part of the same Whole, perhaps we'll treat eachother and nature differently.
You can find these elements in "Reflections..." too. This poem is about the potential future that is present within all of us...
Mother Nature
"Mother Nature" is not just an expression of a longing to feel one with our natural surroundings again. It's also about the need to restore the bond with our deepest inner self, the Universal Love. Maybe "Light of Consciousness" has shed some light (or Light) on that issue. The first verse urges you to not let the opinion of the people around you bother you.
You must not be led by earthly influences such as other people, and especially not "human" emotions such as greed or fear. Don't get me wrong here: not letting other people lead you doesn't imply ignoring them or what they think. On the contrary, they can guide you, for they too are beings of Light, beings of Love. But in your own heart the voice of Love is the purest, so in the end you must base your decisions on your own pure feeling,
your connection with the source. As for the "human emotions": by that I mean the negative ones; because every form of love is a form of Love and therefore an essential part of your existence, you shouldn't exclude them from your life. So I'm not propagating ignoring all human emotions and let Reason lead you (like Seneca, for example), but following the pure human emotions that stem from your being part of the Universal Love: let the ongoing beat be a guide to my feet.
With the above reflections, I've covered a part of the second verse too. That one is about reincarnation. When 'planning' the great events for the coming life, the soul - in the hereafter - is in a place that knows no human emotions such as fear. In the hereafter, the soul is litterally a part of the Love. What I'm trying to say is that when choosing the path of life, the soul isn't influenced by anger, greed, fear and all those other "human emotions". It is, however, guided by Love.
I think darkness just isn't able to penetrate a source of light, and therefore the pure situation of being - being one with everything in the Whole - is free from fear. So the second verse expresses a desire to be able to see things as they were meant to be. To look beyond our suffering and pain and see the reason. In a way that means 'surmounting'our problems. So the mountains are a metaphore here.
The third verse is about the source and the piece of Love within yourself. The spirit can help you cope with all the problems you may encounter during your journey through life. your faith will give you strength and the flames of Love can keep out the earthly night...
The fourth and final verse is about our bond with Nature... try to feel what she's feeling, hear her heart beating. There you'll be able to get a clear Insight from 'above'(so the "mountain stream" isn't just to be taken litterally) and dream of yourself and a Golden Future. LEAD ME BACK...
I think "Mother Nature" is about humanity in its purest form. What would the human race be without humanity? This is one of my worst nightmares. In the world surrounding me, I often see people who are unable to express their feelings, to show affection.
But what is a world without emotions? I think that is what war must feel like. We all watch the news and see pictures of war and people in misery. However, that's just the outside. What must the inside be like?
How must it feel to be in a war? I thank God that I've never had to experience that, and that I probably never will. But sometimes I wonder about those people who aren't so lucky. One day, when I was reflecting on this, I suddenly got an image of a man in WW II. A man of love who loses everything he has, including his belief in humanity...
The Hiding-Place
This is probably my most moving poem (in English). Reading this, you can so easily imagine yourself in such a position. Looking for humanity in a world gone insane, losing yourself because nobody seems to share the feelings you still have about what life is about and how life should be. On a lower level, don't we all occasionally feel that way?
But as long as there are people who can see things clearly and stand up for what they believe in (the name John Denver comes to mind...), there is hope for the future. My favorite line in "The Hiding-Place" is where 'forever' is described as an 'eternal clock of love and hope'. I wrote that without really thinking about it, but I later realized how true that is.
Love for one another, and hope for the future!
Drop by every once in a while to read these poems again. You may find some new meanings in them...
Peace!
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