literature

Esmé van den Boom: That’s How We Drink for Four Centuries

Eighteen young Flemish and Dutch authors have taken inspiration from seventeenth-century artefacts from the Rijksmuseum. Looking at these objects, what eureka moments do they see?? In her poem Esmé van den Boom gives a voice to an early 17th-century roemer, a wine glass engraved with the words Sic Soleo Amicos, attributed to Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher. ‘Gust of wind through the blowpipe of time’

That’s How We Drink for Four Centuries

Gust of wind across the canals

A cross spider crawled into a collar of lace
Tesselscha sings and see: a mere hint of vibration
kissed roemer awake, delicate treasure impervious to time
In the casings at Geldersekade tall windows quiver with golden grain

Gust of wind through the blowpipe of time

Amid these riches mottoes are recited, letters written
‘A demain les affaires’ (and elections not until November)
A glass broke, a new one appeared
A glass broke, a new one appeared
a glass breaks, the wine is poured into a new glass
I stand beside it in the cabinet and see: the inscription remains the same
The games changed but their aim alike
a temporary reprieve from shame

Gust of wind through your browser history

’t Saligh Roemers house: ‘an elegant boutique hotel
poets, artists and thinkers have been gathering in
this historical building for centuries’ (nothing about
the sex parties, the tourists, the drugs – cultural
capital is building a collection)
I am part of a collection, I yearn
for some dessert wine, but no,
not in my bowl

Gust of wind from the bellows

Enter the nouveau riche orators’ rooms
‘this is how I treat my friends’
where have I heard that one before
man (or shall I say consultant, lobbyist perhaps?)
is wiser with each gulp
A cross spider in your collar, a thorn in your side

Gust of wind sweeps letters into the street

The hands that engraved me, Roemer’s daughter, Sibyl from Alkmaar:
figure of perfection, all-rounder, exemplary Tesselscha, where is your
gentle admonition to those who misbehaved?
Your voice is not included in the display
It is late, the bottle is uncorked
may he who grabs my stem with his greasy hand
stab himself on the bramble thorns

• deBuren
• Esmé van den Boom
• Rijksmuseum