This book made me feel connected. It's themes are recognisable to anyone who grapples with the "big questions" of life; to anyone who seeks, within the rush and confusion of modern day life, not to "wander from the path of love".
These poems get under your skin, they feel like friends, they feel like truth. They are warm, passionate, and beautiful in their accessibilty. I am not a scholar of poetry. I seek connection and to make sense of the things about human life that often cannot be made sense of. In "a Lamp at Midday" the poet doesn't give us any easy answers; instead she gives us the gift of poetry that frames the questions on our lips, and that gives expression to the feelings that arise for human beings at their most dark and their most joyful moments.
A tiny poem that seems hidden away on page 72, of "a Lamp at Midday", asks with it's last line, "Who, then, is left to read my ordinary dreams?" The reader might miss this poem, nestled at the lower right hand corner of the very last page. "Will anyone ever read this?" is the title of this final poem in her collection of forty-seven new poems by
Judy Croome. It hints at the fear a writer must have, at releasing her words into the world, that her work will go unnoticed.
"There is a dream in my heart,
I yearn to share with all the world.
But no-one will ever read this.
My voice drowns
In the resplendent chorus of a million voices,
Each with a story of their own."
On the same page we find "Water, Steam and Ice", which again seems to me to be a fitting way for the poet to send her precious words out into the world. I hear the poet encouraging herself, persuading herself, to send out her words. Indeed I hear her, clearing away the "layers of rubble" that are built "Up this simple truth". Thus way she appears to me to arm herself against the critics, with the knowledge that her work is "That which comes from Love."
Everything about this book of poetry, for me, carries with it so much love, honesty and care. From the beautiful cover design by Michelle Davidson Argyle with it's warm colours, to the feel of the cool shiny cover, and the lightness of the book itself when I hold it.
Then from the very first poem, "The Painters", the warmth and love that can be found in life, is felt by the reader. I was straight away hooked in on reading these lines,
"Smooth strokes slide sideways
Across sun-drained walls
Dull dirt blooming bright white
Silence intruded by children's laughter,
Dogs barking.
Sweet sounds softly surround
A small haven of peace
Shared by two working people
No words are spoken by father or daughter,
None need be said.
The forty seven poems are grouped into two main sections, the first entitled "Into the Moon" and containing twenty five poems which tell the story of the poet's love for her father, his long illness and then his death. On first reading I had to stop about half way through this section, the honesty and despair of someone caring for a loved one, and of watching the daily loss of the parent they knew, was just too raw.
On second reading, I read the whole section at once. I felt that the poems need to be read together as they do map out that long painful goodbye, where relatives sit for hours by a loved ones bedside, pondering life and death. The section builds to a climax with "The Treasure" on page 23; some of the patience and control shown now erupts into sorrow and fierce anger about her father's life working in the gold mines for "the treasure man, above all else, prizes". The poet lifts up a desperate prayer in the last stanza,
"Deep in the space between two worlds,
Unseeing of the summer storm that rages destruction
On the garden even as it pummels our hearts
With unknown fears, you waste away,
Even though we try to hold you tight,
You quietly slip beyond our embrace.
I lift my eyes to heaven above,
Offering prayers and incense and tears
To all the gods in the worlds,
As I implore:
Do not leave him alone.
Wrap him in your loving embrace,
Carry him on your strong back,
Holding him in your divine hands,
As, once more, he travels
Deep into the underworld
Seeking man's most precious treasure:
The golden path to heaven."
The second section of poems is entitled "Vignnettes of Life and Love" and contains forty seven poems, one of these is really a group of Haiku poems which Judy has indicated are her favourites, and they really are beautiful. Almost like a snapshot of the main themes of her collection, man's destruction of animals and nature, love of animals, modern life, faith, history, the beauty of life's moments, time passing.
The poems in this second section are ordered alphabetically, however appear to me to be loosely grouped in themes also. The first six follow on I think from the death of the poet's father, much as life does after a loss. They seem to tell a continuing story as the poet grieves, and also I thought, grapples to maintain hope and her faith in humanity. Contained here are poems of love, beauty and passion, the title poem "A Lamp At Midday"; the light hearted " A Fun Poem On Our Anniversary"; and "A Prayer for South Africa."
A group of three poems then stand out as a turning point in the poet's grieving, with "Escape", the poet seems to see the world with fresh eyes once again;
"Until the full moon slips out from behind a cloud
Turning grey into silver.
You feel that you have died and reawakened in a new world,
Where you make soap bubbles in the kitchen sink
Or paint invisible pictures with the mop
And sorting plain while from vibrant colours soothes your mind."
The two Eulogies in this section, hint at the quest for faith the poet has, she speaks to her father, hoping that "If there is another world/ I hope you know/ That we know now/ How often you were right/ And we were wrong"; and for the soul of man she asks "Where are You now? Your light fades from our memory, Scrubbed away by a surging herd That despises truth and worships mediocrity I fear the darkness grows ever stronger and naught is left but a vanishing savannah."
In the remaining groups of poems, including the Haiku's, the reader is stuck by the passion and anger sometimes expressed by the poet about modern life and humanity, the misuse of power, the destruction of nature and loss of faith. In "In the End", the poet wishes that "Love could leap across the abyss of modern rationality" and in "Rapture" she touches on the excesses of organised religions and hints that for her "the beloved" waits in nature and in silence.
Throughout this section there are poems about nature and animals, I swear I heard a drum beat of fear as I read "Meandering in the Morning Mist" as an antelope smells the scent of man and is ready to leap away from the danger. The poet appears to have no time for man and the destruction we cause. In "Shadow" the poet appears to be writing to a human, and it is clear that she regards animals as equals to human beings, superior even.
The poet touches on the New South Africa, and there are a small number of poems about divisions within society. It is clear that whilst she may despair at the direction in which the human race is moving in general, her compassion for ordinary people, neighbours, friends, loved ones, strangers is here too. Yes she is frustrated and angry, but she still turns gentle, humourous and compassionate eyes on her fellow man, yearning for peace and a more understanding, caring world. In "One Day In The Life Of A Soldier" and in "Perceptions" and In "Stranger in the Street", " My facebook Friends" and "The Gender Police" we see this clearly.
As Judy lives in Johannesburg, South Africa and grew up in the Zimbabwean bush, some of the details of her contrasts and loves are of course different to those that are familiar to me. However her themes are very recognisable whatever the reader's culture or background. For example, she contrasts the city and the Bushveld; and explores how the wild places are being overtaken by "civilisation". I loved "Into the Bushveld" and "Locked in the City" both.
My favourite poem is possibly "One Early Morning", though I have so many favourites.
"The home lies covered with calm,
Gentle moments of heaven to treasure,
Deep in the silence, lies an eternal voice.
Who else wakes to this moment
Beyond religion, race, sex or gender
Untouched by man-made divides that wound so deeply?"
Although the book contains some very challenging themes, the poems are never too bleak, or the poet's voice too bitter; her warmth and love are always with you as you read. As in the title poem, "A Lamp at Midday", the poet guides the reader through some of the darkest places of human life on this planet; through sorrow, fear, pain, loss, anger, destruction, war, cruelty and greed, with a lamp burning that allows all of these dark emotions, all of the contradictions, to be shown for what they are. With the lamp we can see where love still exists within it all.
A must read!
With thanks to Judy for asking me to review her wonderful collection, for the gift of her book and for giving me the chance to practice using my "voice".
