Undercurrents

The photo on the cover of this book aptly captures the searching spirit that underlies the collection of 46 poems within. The photo of a boardwalk in Pekapeka Wetlands, south of Hastings, was taken by Sally Carter, Presbyterian minister in Napier. Lynne Frith chose to live in Hawkes Bay in her early years of retirement, and both Lynne and Sally had served Wellington churches in early ministries.

The boardwalk imagery symbolises walking the spiritual faith journey through a darkened bush landscape and over deep waters of uncertain depth.

A similar idea is caught in the poem Fancy Footwork:

Oh, there is a man walking on a roof.

Not as remarkable as walking on water

but just as tricky.

Not only is there the matter

of elegant footwork

needed for walking on a slope

but also the large bucket of paint

which would be messy

If the man walking on the roof

fell over.

The trick to walking on water

is knowing where the shallow bits are.

The ordinariness of imagery, the careful placing and length of lines, the repetition of key words and the punch line to end, all illustrate the wit and wisdom of Lynne’s poems. Neither can we overlook the scriptural reference.

Church ministers, in their preaching and prayers, choose their words with the congregational needs paramount. It is not that their salary depends on this but rather that they communicate most ably when their words reflect the life experience and common sense of the people for whom they offer their pastoral ministry.

The writing of poetry is a more personal act. There is a greater freedom to create and play with language. It both reveals and conceals. In a selection of eleven poems published in Music in the Air Summer/Autumn 2008, Lynne writes: “Readers of poetry often assume that all poetry is autobiographical. It is more accurate to describe mine as responses to both lived and observed experience … When I read poetry, which I do avidly, the inspiration behind a poem is less important than the response the poem evokes in me.”

Two categories provide a framework to the choice and diversity of subject matter in this collection:

First is C.S. Lewis’s four loves described in Greek thought: familial or affection (storge), friendship (philia), romantic (eros) and spiritual (agape) – ‘the highest does not stand without the lowest’.

And second, a listing of topics: places of ministry, the landscape of Aotearoa, arts of painting and music, New Zealand poets, road travel, the four seasons, home life, travel overseas, loners, relations between women and men, and moments of epiphany.

The Prelude, ‘Opening words from an old friend’, written by Dr Nicola Francis, an ordained Spiritual Carer from Wellington, is a wonderful tribute to Lynne as lifelong friend and poet. Readers could first make their own acquaintance with Lynne’s poems and then come back to this foreword as a guide to deeper levels of meaning.

Readers are encouraged to take time to find their own meanings and stories from the poems. The language of poetry that “reveals and conceals”, moves from the literal to the metaphorical, the outward to the inward, the physical to the spiritual. Each reader is invited to find their own interpretation of each poem.

Nicola Francis’s Prelude records Lynne’s learning to live with Parkinson’s disease. This led to her return to Auckland, where church, family and friends give support. This shadow has slowed down her passionate commitment to life’s callings and causes. Now she heeds the doctor’s advice to manage her illness, by choosing a quiet life, and accepting Parkinson’s company. This is superbly illustrated in the opening poem of this collection:

Practising the art of being

You could learn the art of being

the doctor said,

as an antidote to feeling useless.

Being still,

being quiet,

being present.

It’s a hard learning,

so imprecise and not easily measured.

Your graduation ceremony

will be your last breath.

Reviewer John Thornley, is publisher of Music in the Air, exploring spirituality and the arts (1996-2015)

Note: Auckland Methodist Central Parish, Pitt St, will handle sales. Email Roberta.hammond@methodistcentral.org.nz or call 09 373 2869 to place an order. Cost per copy $25 + postage.