Women Poetry: Marian Eikelhof, Netherlands

Exclusive: Women Poetry: Edited by Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

DOOMED, BUT NOT BROKEN

Athena, get out of my side,

you jealous soul, change into stone,

are you so desperate...

to steal all my light, spread it out solely over you,

feel admired for your looks

whereas you know my beauty is divine

incomparable

oh, you degenerated spirit

don’t leave me as a bunch of dirt in the shade

pathetic, mediocre goddess

you are so vain

but dear, Poseidon doesn’t want you

he desires me

so, don’t you dare and touch me

my lovely, shiny hair vanished, all vanished

only snakes crawling on my scalp

but never mind, Athena,

you can have my head

see you in the world of light

after death.

***

MODERN MEDUSA

So sorry, dear, 

for not being the lovely nymph you dreamt of

instead of lying at your feet, kiss the ground you walk on,

I am assertive

The witch you see is only a woman

setting her boundaries straightforwardly

I am being honest, whereas you find me heartless

dislike my independence,

the capacity to break free from old patterns

from dysfunctionality

how you envy this

call me insensitive

as I try to make the deadline

prioritize professionalism

don’t try to demonize me, dear,

for being a business woman

is no sin.

***

Marian Eikelhof, a poet and a psychologist, writes poetry in English and Spanish about the emotional aspects of life. Her poems have been published by several prestigious magazines and anthologies She has recently  started the Foundation International Literary in which the aim is to facilitate intercultural exchange between countries by introducing each other to each other's different artistic expressions. By internationally joining artistic forces the peace process is promoted in the world building symbolic bridges and forming a network of intellectuals and artists who aim to defend humanity. Marian has planned to soon publish a collection of  her  Spanish poems.

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The Myth of Medusa Deconstructed :: Setu, March 2021

Dr. Marian Eikelhof, NETHERLANDS

Exclusive: Best of Women Poetry: Edited by Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy

ME 2

Had to rub my flesh until it bled

remove his fingerprints

disinfect

the stains on my soul

and in my head

trying to deal with his irony,

his bacteria, his wickedness

all over my body and

deep inside of me

my universe vomits, hates my feminity,

feel like stoned with prejudice, disbelief;

“tell me, honey,

just a tiny dress, late at night,

sharing your personality, id, privacy…

when you are supposed to be

pure and innocent

why even look at him?”

had to clean myself

from this memory

how he just laughed

then

choked me.

.

Dr. Marian Eikelhof is a poet who works in her daily life as a psychologist. Her work inspires her to write about the emotional aspects of life. Not only does she describe feelings of love, intimacy and desire, but also reflects on the states of profound sadness and feelings of emptiness. On the whole, she criticizes dehumanisation and an ongoing process of alienation in human relationships. Marian’s poetry book “a zero hour contract with life” has been translated from Dutch into English and Turkish. Currently, she is working on her second poetry collection. Marian is also an activist for peace and committed to make the world a better place for children.

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Best of Women Poetry -2020 :: Setu, March 2020

Marian Eikelhof, NETHERLANDS

FACELIFT

You told me
I would look perfect
wrinkleness
with a certain technique
touch of the tongue
my beauty would be
a delight
just as infinite as
a new born baby
a fragrance of youth
no shades of grey
bright.
however
I made a child smile
today
made a grown up man cry
today
there was no trace of
sadness
no wink of
decay
we only saw
blue skies


A PRICE ON MY HEAD

Sadness became my company
since the sun ran out on me
left my country
destroyed my home
no one there to kiss me goodbye
look me in the eye
ask me why
I went away.

You know, believe me,
I had no choice
my parents decided
paid the price
had to follow him
he was my husband
that's what they said.

I was sold like a cow
buried my life
under marriage vowels
wanted to go out and study
shining bright and intelligent

Instead of this
have to love this guy
prepare his meals
and please him
on a daily base
living in slavery

one day,
I promise myself,
I step out of
this suicide.


FIVE O CLOCK IN THE MORNING

I’ll never translate your bathroom anymore
in different shades of a shining spectrum,
hide my ciggies for you under the chair
forbidden-for-me to sit on your balcony,
travel back and forth to you, fall asleep,
be your washing machine to talk to in dark hours,
discuss in detail all your lost loves,
accept daily insults about my inferiorities,
my mellow heart,
too loud laughs,
thrown out of your car,
punished for a seductive smile,
be woken up by the shouting voice
of your tormented soul,
listen to the cries of the young revolutionaries,
dying and dying during the executions
five ‘o clock every morning
never again caress your scars
console you
as my femininity
is looking for liberation.


Marian Eikelhof works in her daily life as a psychologist leading her own consultancy firm. Her work inspires her to write about the emotional aspects of existence. Not only does she depict feelings of love, intimacy and desire, but also a state of profound sadness and she criticizes dehumanisation. She has recently published the second edition of her collection of poems ‘een nurencontract met het leven’. She visited poetry festivals in Cuba in order to defend peace and has published poems in literary magazines like PTYX (Peru) and in the anthology ‘Salt Boundaries’, edited by Malak S. Soufi.

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Women, Power & Creativity :: Setu, March 2019