Herman van Veen

Ran into someone on the market the other day
Who looked at me in amazement.
"Do you still exist?
Had the urge to turn around.
We got to talking.
The man had me in the sixties
Seen in the theater.
He had once emigrated
but returned to the Netherlands
To be buried in Utrecht in due course.

Told him
That in addition to genetic luck,
singing
probably made sure
That I still with heart and soul
About a hundred and forty performances a year.
Of course it creaks here and there
and I don't jump so high
Like at seventy-eight years old.

So yes sir
I'm still here.
And if it is up to me
still
even longer.

Herman van Veen

Herman is coming to Flint Theater Amersfoort with his ensemble led by Edith Leerkes.