The Solace of Wise Friends & Poetry, Enduring...

*Dislaimer: Man Allowed

I have a friend who, given any, and I mean any (!) situation, never fails or falters. He is blessed with the innate ability to bring me back to my centre, to bring me back to a place of calm in stormy seas.

When I was in the Donkin State Psychiatric Hospital being treated for my psychotic break, this friend made a special trip with his fiance at the time, now his beautiful wife.

And he gave me a very special gift. It is the selected poems of Ingrid Jonker, translated by Andre Brink and Antjie Krog, Black Butterflies.

It is inscribed with his words, the words of someone who loves me, as all gifted books should be.

It reads:

Dear Joc

I always suspected you were a bit crazy. Now with the stay in the Donkin — all suspicions confirmed! (In any case, you’re in good company. Some of my favourite people of all time went off the edge for a spell.)

I guess its easy to joke now, now that you’re okay, now that you’re back. But stay with us, my dear friend. You’re such a special, gifted person. Look after yourself.

All my love

xxx

Reading Ingrid Jonker’s poetry, it is no wonder that the collection of letters between her and her lover, in such a beautiful hard cover edition, have been entitled Flames in the Snow.

It seems so fitting.

I opened my own collection of her poetry to see what Ingrid had to say this fair evening, and chance what she would like me to share with you, my readers, and this is what she had to gift you.

I searched for my own heart

By Ingrid Jonker

I searched for my own heart

and long after I had lost my way

in the days trailing past with their foliage

in the aloof sky blue with distance

I thought I’d find my heart

where I’d kept your eyes two brown butterflies

and I saw the swallow swoop up

and shadows starling

And I take a sip of my wine, and soak it in, scrimshaw, and candlelight, and a dozing cat, and words eternal, and most of all, blessed, blessed be those blazing souls, those flames in the snow, gone all too soon...