A durable fire
"True love is a durable fire,
the mind ever burning,Never sick, never old, never dead,
From itself never turning." — Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618)
Despite their poetic brevity the four lines above say a lot in truth above love. They are from the work, "As You Came from the Holy Land" (circa 1599). I find those four lines especially poignant as I am reminded of a young woman with whom I once corresponded.
Linda (not her real name) began writing to me just under two years ago. She was but 16 then. A year ago she informed me that she had met a "wonderful" young man. She later revealed that he drinks a lot and while drunk he sometimes hits her.
The last time I heard from her, he had brutally attacked her, and she asked for my opinion regarding what she should do. I told her that she would "be much safer out of, instead of in, such an abusive relationship". Because I have not heard from Linda in more than six months, I have been concerned about her safety.
Today, I got a letter from someone I do not know, but who I suspect was a one-time classmate of Linda's. The letter bears no name or address, and it is signed simply "A friend". Among other things the writer wrote, "... on Easter afternoon he beat her up yet again ..."
I thought two things are certain: whoever wrote that letter cares a lot about Linda; and, there is a serious need for Linda to question the professed love of any man who would beat her. Linda was in the process of moving when she last communicated with me. In that letter she wrote, "... he does get really angry with me from time to time, but I love him Brandon".
Well, if I knew where to write to her, I would tell her that Sir Walter Raleigh was absolutely right: love is, indeed, "durable", but too often the human body is not — the latter can take only so much.
It is ignorance that drives violent responses to love. No matter how angry a man becomes with the woman he loves, he will not hit her — not if he loves her with a "mind ever burning" in love.
Love is not to be rendered feeble or wizened, and it cannot die. A love that rose in two hearts ten thousand years ago is as "true" as the love that rises within any two people today. For love is the finest thread in the eternal fabric that connects the collective heart and soul of humankind. It always has been and always will be.
Love abhors violence. Love seeks the perpetually earnest knowledge of its "true" self and "From itself [is] never turning". Many couples are in the neighbourhood of love, but for one reason or another cannot seem to find their way into the house. Moreover, there are those who are not even in the right neighbourhood who believe themselves to be in the house.
I hope Linda is reading this. I do not know what more I can tell her if she is, except that there seems to be at least one person who loves her enough to write me on her behalf. Let us hope that Linda is safe.
Unfortunately, sometimes love can appear to be far more complex than it really is. For those lost, and/or wandering aimlessly through the neighbourhood, it is often easier to determine what love is not, rather than what it is.
[The writer is a prisoner on death row in the United States. He is happy to answer letters commenting on his columns. He can be written to at: Brandon Astor Jones, EF-122216, G2-51, GD&CC, PO Box 3877, Jackson, GA 30233, USA. Brandon's childhood autobiography is available in booklet form for $16, including postage. Every cent raised will go towards defending his life. Please make cheques payable to the Brandon Astor Jones Defence Account and post to 10 Palara Place, Dee Why NSW 2099. Donations to the Brandon Astor Jones Defence Account may be made at any Commonwealth Bank, account No. 2127 1003 7638.]