Carpe Diem
Tightly closed tulip buds,
each its own inner world.
Vigorous figures on slender
stems – doomed like Atlas
to carry the heavens.
A multi-budded constellation,
stars in an expanding spring.
All that’s possible is wrapped
in petals, a hint of red
just starting to shine through
the green, purple perhaps
or pink – a promise almost
great beyond belief.
Until the flowers open;
unfolding skin too delicate
for this reality – the end
right there in each beginning.
Frisian and Dutch poem: Tryntsje van der Steege
Tryntsje van der Steege (1984) is a writer, translator, and editor. She’s a student at the Frisian Creative Writing School (Skriuwersfakskoalle) since 2021. In 2023 she won the BoekWinterBoek short story competition with ‘De ynset’ (The Stakes), and received her first Rely Jorritsma Prize for the story ‘It lûd’ (The Sound). In 2025, she won another Rely with her poem ‘De swimmers’ (The Swimmers). Tryntsje translated ‘Enola Holmes – De saak fan de fermiste markys’ (‘The Case of the Missing Marqess’ by Nancy Springer) from English for publisher Regaad. She also works as a project coordinator for Leeuwarden UNESCO City of Literature and reviews literature for the cultural radio programme ‘Op en Út’ at Omrop Fryslân.
English translation: David Colmer
David Colmer (Adelaide, 1960) translates novels, poetry, and children’s literature and is the English translator of Dutch authors including Adriaan van Dis, Gerbrand Bakker, Dimitri Verhulst, and Willem Frederik Hermans. Colmer has translated poetry by Hugo Claus, Radna Fabias, Menno Wigman, and Ramsey Nasr. Colmer has edited children’s books by Annie M.G. Schmidt and Paul van Loon, among others.
Illustration: Redmer Hoekstra
Redmer Hoekstra (1982) graduated as a visual artist and illustrator from the Zwolle Academy of Art in 2009. He finds great inspiration in philosophizing about reality, the workings of things, and the movement of animals. His associative mind combines very different forms in fascinating ways. Redmer uses a laborious and artisanal technique. He creates pen and ink drawings on paper with fineliners, using extensive hatching. The drawings are as realistic as possible, enhancing the viewer’s sense of alienation and wonder.