**King Daniel**
He had no palace
He had no kingdom
He did not sit on a throne
He wore no golden crown
He bore no costly titles
as a sign of exaltation
Daniel was a star among the stars
who shared his light with humankind and earth
He was a flower in a forest of trees
an orchid in a garden of clovers and roses
For Daniel, every person was a pearl,
a treasure unique and of equal worth
But his people cast him out
in the name of a faith
because he wore women’s garments
and colored his hair
in the colors of the rainbow
You must do this, you must do that,
you must behave,
you must listen,
you must obey,
you must believe,
and if you don’t,
then you’re worth nothing to us,
then we don’t want to see you anymore,
then you can just drop dead on your face,
then you can figure it out for yourself
That poor, dear Daniel,
so good and kind he was,
was cast out
because he believed in himself
Daniel found refuge
in the cave of outcast souls,
where he was embraced as one
to share love and sorrow together lovingly
There the muses sang and danced,
the rich and the poor, the lonely,
the wanderers and the alienated, young and old,
each in their own creative way,
in a delightful haze of myrrh,
enjoying sweet wines,
mead, water from the spring, and barley beer
When the feast was over
around three o’clock, in the middle of the night,
everyone took leave of one another,
greeted by the smile
of the bright full moon
It was peacefully quiet in the city
when the sun rose on the horizon
to bestow light and warmth
on all that blooms and lives on earth
A muse awoke in her
flowerbed adorned with roses and lilies of the valley
The minstrel played with his lute
a joyful ode to the muse,
to life and freedom
A vagabond awoke by the canals
where he fed the ducklings some currant bread
The people greeted him kindly
and gave him some small change and sweet cookies
A beautifully decorated boat came sailing by
with a dancing company of all colors and sizes
The vagabond waved, and they waved back, feasting together,
sharing happiness in that one beautiful language of hearts
At the peace monument on the grand square
people from a multitude of lands and cultures gathered
to celebrate and enjoy the cozy togetherness
Suddenly a golden coach clattered by,
full of splendor and grandeur, pulled by sweating horses
over the richly adorned cobblestone streets
The people could only laugh
when a king began tossing out candies wrapped in orange paper,
to show how rich, good, and generous he was
And the muses sang and danced together
to the rhythm of everyone’s hearts,
and the angelic choirs sang beautiful songs
against the backdrop of heavenly blue beauty
Seven days later, the muses heard
that Daniel had left the city
They asked everyone in the circle
if they knew where he was,
but no one had seen or heard from him
since the week before
The last one who had seen him
could only testify
that Daniel had kindly asked
to be left alone, to dream
in the cave of color and lights
"a pilgrim with a crooked hat
had given him some kind of magic potion
and told him that by taking it,
all his wishes would come true
in an endlessly beautiful dream"
The minstrel didn’t know either and said:
"I don’t know where he is,
the last time I saw him
he reassuringly told me,
‘be yourself, be free, live and let be,
that’s how you, just like me, fit in perfectly’"
According to the vagabond from the park,
Daniel had been beaten up by people with clubs
at a demonstration on the Malieveld,
after which he had fled in fear
The community that had cast Daniel out
declared that Daniel had run away out of discontent
They didn’t want to know anything more about it
because they were busy collecting donations
Daniel,
to everyone’s sorrow,
unannounced and so unexpectedly,
had set off on a journey to a distant land,
even further away than the sun, the stars, and the moon
The muses now kept watch by the cave
where, in a wreath of sweet flowers,
lights shone through bitter tears,
merging with the vast sea
Why did he go?
Where did he go?
Our Daniel,
and where were you?
the muse asked
The last witness was the first
she asked,
he spoke no word
After the silence that followed,
a voice said:
"he has gone to dream forever"
Then the angels from heaven sang:
"be comforted, in the heavenly clouds he will
be happy for all eternity,"
bearing witness to the mystery
of the Heavenly Kingdom
Stan Rams
Amsterdam
8 August 2025
---
#poetry #poezie
He had no palace
He had no kingdom
He did not sit on a throne
He wore no golden crown
He bore no costly titles
as a sign of exaltation
Daniel was a star among the stars
who shared his light with humankind and earth
He was a flower in a forest of trees
an orchid in a garden of clovers and roses
For Daniel, every person was a pearl,
a treasure unique and of equal worth
But his people cast him out
in the name of a faith
because he wore women’s garments
and colored his hair
in the colors of the rainbow
You must do this, you must do that,
you must behave,
you must listen,
you must obey,
you must believe,
and if you don’t,
then you’re worth nothing to us,
then we don’t want to see you anymore,
then you can just drop dead on your face,
then you can figure it out for yourself
That poor, dear Daniel,
so good and kind he was,
was cast out
because he believed in himself
Daniel found refuge
in the cave of outcast souls,
where he was embraced as one
to share love and sorrow together lovingly
There the muses sang and danced,
the rich and the poor, the lonely,
the wanderers and the alienated, young and old,
each in their own creative way,
in a delightful haze of myrrh,
enjoying sweet wines,
mead, water from the spring, and barley beer
When the feast was over
around three o’clock, in the middle of the night,
everyone took leave of one another,
greeted by the smile
of the bright full moon
It was peacefully quiet in the city
when the sun rose on the horizon
to bestow light and warmth
on all that blooms and lives on earth
A muse awoke in her
flowerbed adorned with roses and lilies of the valley
The minstrel played with his lute
a joyful ode to the muse,
to life and freedom
A vagabond awoke by the canals
where he fed the ducklings some currant bread
The people greeted him kindly
and gave him some small change and sweet cookies
A beautifully decorated boat came sailing by
with a dancing company of all colors and sizes
The vagabond waved, and they waved back, feasting together,
sharing happiness in that one beautiful language of hearts
At the peace monument on the grand square
people from a multitude of lands and cultures gathered
to celebrate and enjoy the cozy togetherness
Suddenly a golden coach clattered by,
full of splendor and grandeur, pulled by sweating horses
over the richly adorned cobblestone streets
The people could only laugh
when a king began tossing out candies wrapped in orange paper,
to show how rich, good, and generous he was
And the muses sang and danced together
to the rhythm of everyone’s hearts,
and the angelic choirs sang beautiful songs
against the backdrop of heavenly blue beauty
Seven days later, the muses heard
that Daniel had left the city
They asked everyone in the circle
if they knew where he was,
but no one had seen or heard from him
since the week before
The last one who had seen him
could only testify
that Daniel had kindly asked
to be left alone, to dream
in the cave of color and lights
"a pilgrim with a crooked hat
had given him some kind of magic potion
and told him that by taking it,
all his wishes would come true
in an endlessly beautiful dream"
The minstrel didn’t know either and said:
"I don’t know where he is,
the last time I saw him
he reassuringly told me,
‘be yourself, be free, live and let be,
that’s how you, just like me, fit in perfectly’"
According to the vagabond from the park,
Daniel had been beaten up by people with clubs
at a demonstration on the Malieveld,
after which he had fled in fear
The community that had cast Daniel out
declared that Daniel had run away out of discontent
They didn’t want to know anything more about it
because they were busy collecting donations
Daniel,
to everyone’s sorrow,
unannounced and so unexpectedly,
had set off on a journey to a distant land,
even further away than the sun, the stars, and the moon
The muses now kept watch by the cave
where, in a wreath of sweet flowers,
lights shone through bitter tears,
merging with the vast sea
Why did he go?
Where did he go?
Our Daniel,
and where were you?
the muse asked
The last witness was the first
she asked,
he spoke no word
After the silence that followed,
a voice said:
"he has gone to dream forever"
Then the angels from heaven sang:
"be comforted, in the heavenly clouds he will
be happy for all eternity,"
bearing witness to the mystery
of the Heavenly Kingdom
Stan Rams
Amsterdam
8 August 2025
---
#poetry #poezie
**King Daniel**
He had no palace
He had no kingdom
He did not sit on a throne
He wore no golden crown
He bore no costly titles
as a sign of exaltation
Daniel was a star among the stars
who shared his light with humankind and earth
He was a flower in a forest of trees
an orchid in a garden of clovers and roses
For Daniel, every person was a pearl,
a treasure unique and of equal worth
But his people cast him out
in the name of a faith
because he wore women’s garments
and colored his hair
in the colors of the rainbow
You must do this, you must do that,
you must behave,
you must listen,
you must obey,
you must believe,
and if you don’t,
then you’re worth nothing to us,
then we don’t want to see you anymore,
then you can just drop dead on your face,
then you can figure it out for yourself
That poor, dear Daniel,
so good and kind he was,
was cast out
because he believed in himself
Daniel found refuge
in the cave of outcast souls,
where he was embraced as one
to share love and sorrow together lovingly
There the muses sang and danced,
the rich and the poor, the lonely,
the wanderers and the alienated, young and old,
each in their own creative way,
in a delightful haze of myrrh,
enjoying sweet wines,
mead, water from the spring, and barley beer
When the feast was over
around three o’clock, in the middle of the night,
everyone took leave of one another,
greeted by the smile
of the bright full moon
It was peacefully quiet in the city
when the sun rose on the horizon
to bestow light and warmth
on all that blooms and lives on earth
A muse awoke in her
flowerbed adorned with roses and lilies of the valley
The minstrel played with his lute
a joyful ode to the muse,
to life and freedom
A vagabond awoke by the canals
where he fed the ducklings some currant bread
The people greeted him kindly
and gave him some small change and sweet cookies
A beautifully decorated boat came sailing by
with a dancing company of all colors and sizes
The vagabond waved, and they waved back, feasting together,
sharing happiness in that one beautiful language of hearts
At the peace monument on the grand square
people from a multitude of lands and cultures gathered
to celebrate and enjoy the cozy togetherness
Suddenly a golden coach clattered by,
full of splendor and grandeur, pulled by sweating horses
over the richly adorned cobblestone streets
The people could only laugh
when a king began tossing out candies wrapped in orange paper,
to show how rich, good, and generous he was
And the muses sang and danced together
to the rhythm of everyone’s hearts,
and the angelic choirs sang beautiful songs
against the backdrop of heavenly blue beauty
Seven days later, the muses heard
that Daniel had left the city
They asked everyone in the circle
if they knew where he was,
but no one had seen or heard from him
since the week before
The last one who had seen him
could only testify
that Daniel had kindly asked
to be left alone, to dream
in the cave of color and lights
"a pilgrim with a crooked hat
had given him some kind of magic potion
and told him that by taking it,
all his wishes would come true
in an endlessly beautiful dream"
The minstrel didn’t know either and said:
"I don’t know where he is,
the last time I saw him
he reassuringly told me,
‘be yourself, be free, live and let be,
that’s how you, just like me, fit in perfectly’"
According to the vagabond from the park,
Daniel had been beaten up by people with clubs
at a demonstration on the Malieveld,
after which he had fled in fear
The community that had cast Daniel out
declared that Daniel had run away out of discontent
They didn’t want to know anything more about it
because they were busy collecting donations
Daniel,
to everyone’s sorrow,
unannounced and so unexpectedly,
had set off on a journey to a distant land,
even further away than the sun, the stars, and the moon
The muses now kept watch by the cave
where, in a wreath of sweet flowers,
lights shone through bitter tears,
merging with the vast sea
Why did he go?
Where did he go?
Our Daniel,
and where were you?
the muse asked
The last witness was the first
she asked,
he spoke no word
After the silence that followed,
a voice said:
"he has gone to dream forever"
Then the angels from heaven sang:
"be comforted, in the heavenly clouds he will
be happy for all eternity,"
bearing witness to the mystery
of the Heavenly Kingdom
Stan Rams
Amsterdam
8 August 2025
---
#poetry #poezie
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