de stank van angstzweet
niet weg te krijgen
geen middel dat baat

taak vervuld
niet meer nodig
buitengezet zoals het grof huisvuil

Garbage - Marleen Hallaert 2013

erotisch en psychisch uitgehongerd
noch voedsel noch drank dat soelaas biedt
de stank van angstzweet

koekoeksei
geen vlucht over het koekoeknest

's nachts knarsen, klauwen en vluchten
vechten met het dekbed en de nevels van de nacht

wakker worden
samen geklemde kaken
met de stank van angstzweet

voelen voelen voelen
en zwijgen

hoeveel keer moet een mens binnenin sterven
om de stank te verdrijven

leven langs de zijlijnen
observatie
de stap niet zetten

uitbarsten en uitbraken
uitdrijven en uitdruppen
uitspitten

en toch
de stank niet weg te krijgen.

Marleen

PS interested in seeing more ?  Visit my photostream.

Communication and looking for the truth

Last Saturday a train derailed in a city less than 10 miles from my home. It was a freight train with 13 wagons. After the derailment, three of the wagons carrying acrylonitrile exploded and caught fire.

Demo - Photo taken in 2009 - Copyright Marleen Hallaert 2009

After that we heard the following in press conferences:

• there are no wounded
• the smoke and vapor are not poisonous
• the derailment is because of poor maintenance of the tracks
• the derailment is not because of poor maintenance of the tracks
• the driver was driving too fast
• the driver was not driving too fast
• there are 3 casualties
• there is 'only' one casualty
• the casualty has nothing to do with the explosion nor the fire
• the vapor and smoke is dangerous
• we need an evacuation
• the casualty is a direct result of the accident
• the deceased cannot be taken out of his home because it is too dangerous for the first aid workers
• there are 17 wounded people
• there are more wounded people (49)
• the evacuated can go home
• the evacuated went home
• the evacuated who were at home are re-evacuated
• there are 102 people in the hospital
• everybody near the accident should remove all food stuff from their homes
• the driver did not have certification to drive in Belgium
• the driver did have certification to drive in Belgium
• the cows near the accident can still remain in their pasture, no problem
• people in the village should not eat any fruits or vegetables from their garden
• the governor blames the miscommunication to Murphy's law
• a toxicologist went public to warn the population
• the governor responded there are 'other toxicologists'
• people in neighbouring villages should not eat vegetables or fruits from their garden
• it is safe for the people in the neighbouring villages to consume the fruits and vegetables out of their garden
• Today, May 8, it is confirmed that people in the perimeter will not be allowed to go to their homes before May 18
• the train is still there, it is not safe to remove the remaining wagons
• Fishing is not allowed in part of the Scheldt, because of the toxicity of the extinguishing water which was released in the Scheldt.

It has been a terrible week already, miscommunication, non-communication, trying to find some truth in all the garbled messages.

And today, the local police issued the following status update:

"People, stop asking the same questions - read the communication. If we are not knocking at your door to evacuate, you are safe for the moment! If you feel anything, call 101."

Sad world.

Marleen

Bridge builder

You built a bridge for me.

Cautiously but swiftly guided me to the other side.

And turned around.

The other side:

So many possibilities and  numerous openings

Still -

All by myself.

Marleen

PS interested in seeing more ?  Visit my photostream.

I need your help

I urgently need a copywriter who can write (3000 characters maximum) about photographic portfolio and project. I cannot pay you, but I can offer you a photoshoot instead.

Hulp nodig! Wie kent er iemand die dringend (binnen de week) copy kan schrijven in NL (3000 karakters max.) over fotografisch oeuvre en project. Kan niet betalen, maar in ruil bied ik je een fotoshoot aan.

Thank you,
Dank je,

Marleen

Pay it forward

One of the fastest growing 'hypes' I've seen over the past 24 hours is the 'Suspended Coffees' (in Dutch Uitgestelde Koffie).  A new way to to help somebody in need.  Everyone can help, by either paying in advance a hot beverage - or even some food - for people who need it and cannot afford it.

I love the idea, and I am not the only one, as all social media seem to have picked up this story.  In Oostende, one group of people started to implement the idea for coffee and hot soup.

I just hope my local cafés and brasseries will pick up on this and help as well.  The only thing I can do right now is just share the idea - you can as well so please share !

We'll see how it pans out.

Marleen

Des Visages Des Figures

Inspired by the music and poetry of Noir Desir

Des visages, des figures
Dévisagent, défigurent
Des figurants à effacer
des faces A, des faces B
...

...
Des corps, des esprits me reviennent
Des décors, des scènes, des arènes
Hantez, hantez, faites comme chez vous, restez
...

(lyrics by Noir Désir, song Des Visages Des Figures)

Marleen



PS interested in seeing more ?  Visit my photostream.

Switch off!

Today is Earth Hour!

Switch it off for an hour and take a look here to see what else you could be doing.

Marleen


PS interested in seeing more ?  Visit my photostream.