Marc and I live in a town called Lievegem (it used to be called Lovendegem, before it merged with a couple of other towns) in Belgium.
Now, 7-21 February, it hosts a project called ‘Liefdegem’.
’Liefde’ being the Dutch translation of 'love’.
(Many town names in Belgium end in ‘gem’, which in ancient times meant ‘home of’.)
’Liefdegem’ is an art and poetry project, and also a general social connection project.
We are taking part with two poems about love that I wrote. Marc wrote them out on big pieces of craft paper, with a thick black marker. I colored red borders around them with a red marker. And out of red craft paper I cut hearts in two different sizes.
We stuck all of them to our front window(s).
’Gratis boeken’ means ‘free books’ and points to our Little Free Library.
The Dutch poem translates as:
”I love you
so excessively
from your warm heart to your appearance
from your generous laugh to sometimes your mood
from your clever mind to your creativity
from your compassion to your helpfulness
from how you still always surprise me
to how you fit so well in my arms
I love you
so excessively”
Your towns project is so nice and your display so lovely! I imagine passersby will enjoy the cheeriness of the look and the meaningfulness in your words.
1 Like
AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
3
What a lovely community project!
Your poem is heartfelt and is a nice touch to the hearts.
It is not a town tradition yet. This is the first time ever. I do hope it becomes a tradition.
I hope it is clear that there are two poems (one in Dutch and one in English).
The English one reads:
”LOVE THE WORLD
people and animals, flowers and trees
wind, rain and sunshine, rivers and seas
LOVE THE WORLD
fix the climate, stop hating away
embrace the wonder
of every new day
LOVE
THE WORLD”
2 Likes
AIMR
(Linda -2026 time to regroup and renew :us:)
7
Do most of the Dutch people read/speak/understand English? I am always amazed at how other countries seem to be much more bi or multi-lingual compared to the USA.
Yes, almost all Dutch and Flemish people read, speak and understand English well.
In fact, each year The Netherlands are on top of the list of best non-native users of English.
Although, watching tv, I have to say that their pronunciation of English isn’t always perfect, lol.
And Belgium usually holds around the eighth place on that list (I’ve forgotten what the list is called).
Also, many Dutch and Belgians have a good knowledge of more than two languages.
